Turgid

Turgid is an adjective with two principal senses, one scientific and one figurative. In a biological context, turgid describes something swollen or distended from internal pressure. Plant cells become turgid when their vacuoles fill with water, creating turgor pressure against the cell wall. This pressure helps keep non-woody tissues rigid, supports upright growth, and drives cell expansion during development. Turgidity depends on the surrounding solution being relatively hypotonic to the cell sap; if water is lost or the external solution is hypertonic, cells become flaccid and the plant may wilt. Turgor is limited by cell-wall elasticity, and excessive turgor can influence stomatal opening and other growth processes.

In a medical and clinical sense, skin turgor refers to the elasticity of the skin, used as a quick sign of hydration and aging. Poor skin turgor can indicate dehydration or reduced skin elasticity, while normal turgor suggests adequate hydration.

As a figurative term, turgid describes language, prose, or style that is excessively ornate, verbose, or pompous. Turgid writing often conveys meaning with inflated diction and convoluted sentence structure, and it is usually criticized for obscuring rather than clarifying information.

Etymology traces turgid to the Latin turgere, meaning to swell. The related noun turgor is the pressure exerted by cell contents against the cell wall, a core concept in plant physiology.