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swinge

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To beat or punish severely; to move violently—conveying brutality or uncontrolled motion in dramatic or epic scenes.

Detailed Definition
“Swinge” conveys brutal force—swingeing blows, swingeing winds. In poetry, it describes punishment or elemental power. The term’s harshness mirrors impact. Poets use it to explore how violence corrects or destroys, where swingeing marks divine wrath or natural fury, reinforcing themes of justice, retribution, and overwhelming force in narrative and dramatic contexts.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The storm did swinge the trees,” in a violent natural image; In Spenser: “The fiend swinge him with chains of fire”; “He swinge his sword in righteous wrath”; “The lash did swinge the prisoner’s back”; “Swinge not justice with cruelty”; The pendulum swinge between joy and sorrow.
Additional Notes
“Swinge” implies brutal, often excessive punishment; in satirical or judicial verse, tyrants “swinge the poor,” making it a term of social critique that emphasizes disproportionate force and suffering.
Also Known As
beat thrash punish
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