inundated
Americanadjective
-
flooded.
Desperate people in the inundated areas prayed for rescue even as the waters kept rising.
-
overwhelmed by a great volume of something.
The first congratulatory email was a high for all of us; then we got another, and another, and by the end of the day we had an inundated inbox.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inundated
Explanation
Stand on a busy street corner handing out free cupcakes, and you'll be inundated with hungry customers. Inundated means "overwhelmed". The Latin root of inundated is inundare, literally "to overflow," and "overflowing" is still one of the meanings of the adjective inundated. A river bank can become inundated with water, or flooded, just as a movie star can be inundated with autograph requests.
Vocabulary lists containing inundated
100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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This Week in Words: January 6 - 12, 2018
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This Week in Words: Feb. 25 - Mar. 2, 2018
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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.
Inundated with calls, and with police and firefighters all occupied, the dispatchers became increasingly powerless to render help, resorting to offering advice like “leave if you have to leave.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 5, 2024
Inundated with requests and rising costs, Ms Doelle has asked the government to fund her initiative, but says she has been forced to turn away some animals.
From BBC • Oct. 22, 2022
Inundated as we are by traumatizing images and indiscriminate claims of “fake news,” it should come as no surprise that our ideological bubbles are actually quite difficult to burst.
From New York Times • Aug. 5, 2021
Inundated with fourteen malpractice lawsuits, Greene filed for bankruptcy that year.
From The New Yorker • May 7, 2019
Inundated nine or ten months of the year, these cypress swamps are often dry the remaining time, and it is a surprise to Southerners to find these trees comfortable and beautiful in Northern parks.
From Trees Worth Knowing by Rogers, Julia Ellen
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.
