deluge
noun
a great flood of water; inundation; flood.
Trivia Time
In Greek mythology, whose anger was said to cause a great deluge sent to punish humanity?
deluge
American
[del-yooj, -yoozh, del-ooj, -oozh, dih-looj, -loozh]
/ ˈdɛl judʒ, -juʒ, ˈdɛl udʒ, -uʒ, dɪˈludʒ, -ˈluʒ /
noun
-
deluges
plural
-
a great flood of water; inundation; flood.
-
a drenching rain; downpour.
-
anything that overwhelms like a flood.
a deluge of mail.
- Synonyms:
- catastrophe, cataclysm
-
the Deluge. flood.
deluge
1
British
/ ˈdɛljuːdʒ /
noun
-
a great flood of water
-
torrential rain; downpour
-
an overwhelming rush or number
a deluge of requests
verb
-
to flood, as with water; soak, swamp, or drown
-
to overwhelm or overrun; inundate
Deluge
2
British
/ ˈdɛljuːdʒ /
noun
Synonym Usage
See flood.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
delugesimple
-
delugessimple
-
have delugedperfect
-
has delugedperfect
-
am delugingprogressive
-
are delugingprogressive
-
is delugingprogressive
-
have been delugingperfect progressive
-
has been delugingperfect progressive
Past
-
delugedsimple
-
had delugedperfect
-
was delugingprogressive
-
were delugingprogressive
-
had been delugingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deluge
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dīluvium “flood,” equivalent to dīluv-, base of dīluere “to wash away, dissolve” ( dī- di 2 + -luere, combining form of lavere “to wash”) + -ium -ium
Explanation
Feeling overwhelmed, like you're underwater? You might be experiencing a deluge — like when you've been given a deluge of homework over vacation: a dozen term papers, two dozen books to read, and a mile-high stack of math problems. The noun deluge is an overwhelming amount of something in general, such as work, people, or questions. Because of its Latin roots, however, in particular it means an overwhelming amount of water. It comes from diluvian, which means flood. The verb deluge similarly means to overwhelm or inundate with something, particularly water. The hurricane deluged the island with rain. A deluge isn't always a bad thing, however. One thing most people would like to be deluged with? Money.
Vocabulary lists containing deluge
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Water Hazard: Words for Too Much Moisture
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"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Megacap companies, including the “Magnificent Seven” group of tech stocks, have been almost rate insensitive in recent months, despite borrowing a deluge of new debt to fund the AI build-out.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
The deluge included more than 700 papers covering hundreds of problems across number theory, algebraic geometry and other fields with names that could give people haunted by high-school math a migraine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
On-the-ground responders became confused by a deluge of 911 calls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The deluge has disrupted travel across Catalonia and Valencia, with flights cancelled and roads submerged.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Shostakovich was denounced by the Soviet Composers’ Union, and then came a deluge of public criticism - even from former friends and colleagues.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
This story is part of a series, After the Deluge, produced with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 29, 2021
The response to the Crash, according to Adam Tooze in his book The Deluge, was deflationary policies were pursued everywhere.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 4, 2017
"Amongst these records," wrote Rassam, "were found the Chaldean accounts of the Creation and Deluge."
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2015
Jacques Leslie is the author, most recently, of “A Deluge of Consequences: A Riveting Adventure in the High Himalayas.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2014
In another paper I propose to inquire whether, in the conception of the inspired writers, the Deluge really was universal, in the sense customarily supposed.
From The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, November 1879 by Various
"My flat's car park was under water -- it never floods, even in 2011" when hundreds of people died across Thailand in heavy deluges, he said, asking AFP not to publish his family name.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
And the careful, steadily reported, once-a-week format may seem like a dinosaur in this hyper-paced timeline where deluges of information accost us every ticking second.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
In Aceh Tamiang, one of the hardest-hit areas of Indonesia, survivors described villages being entirely swept away by fast-moving deluges.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025
Shockingly, their analysis suggests the deluges were far larger than the Great Flood, which reshaped much of the Central Valley and Los Angeles Basin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
It may well be asked whether any memory can possibly have survived such a series of deluges.
From The Great Return by Arthur Machen
But the opposite was true: I was deluged with requests for help from people hoping to save their relationships with their friends and loved ones.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026
Legitimately good doctors are deluged with referrals and turn away new patients.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
Utah officials have complained that the state has been deluged with constitutional challenges.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
When it became clear that the company was replacing its original formula rather than offering New Coke alongside it, its Atlanta headquarters was deluged with angry phone calls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Mayor Swaney was deluged with angry phone calls and emails from Times readers who were appalled that he had kicked the Fugees out of the town park after Christmas.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
The new authorities swiftly loosened Assad-era restrictions, deluging the market with cheaper imports and lifting a moratorium that made dealing with dollars a criminal offense.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2025
Massive storms are increasingly deluging California followed by periods of drought that increase the risk of wildfires.
From Reuters ● Jan. 5, 2023
Until she saw the money and comments deluging GoFundMe, Ms. Bachom, the video journalist, thought she was the only one who felt a special connection to Mr. Patel and the store.
From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2022
Angry residents are deluging officials with complaints and filing lawsuits, while some leading companies are installing new equipment, making payments to neighbors or even closing down.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2021
On the way into North Hampden, it was all I could do to keep from deluging Henry with questions, but I kept my mouth shut until we got there.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
