inundation

American  

[in-uhn-dey-shuhn, -uhn-] / ˌɪn ənˈdeɪ ʃən, -ʌn- /

noun

1. the condition of being flooded.

   Researchers are warning that accelerated sea level change threatens hundreds of thousands of coastal homes with inundation.

2. a flood.

   Areas shaded in purple on the map may see an inundation of 3 to 12 feet.

3. the condition or state of being overwhelmed.

   Angkor Wat, the magnificent temple of the Khmer Empire, faces inundation by tourists and environmental dangers.

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Other Word Forms

• superinundation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of inundation

First recorded in 1400–50; from Latin inundātiōn-, stem of inundātiō “a flooding,” from inundāre “to flood, overflow”; see inundate ( def. ), -ion ( def. )

Explanation

An overabundance of something is an inundation. If you got an inundation of requests for your famous chocolate cupcakes, you better get baking! If you advertised a free piano in the local newspaper, you might get an inundation of emails in response, and your picnic on the grass could be ruined by an inundation of ants. Inundation can also refer specifically to a flood of water, like when a riverbank is at risk of inundation after several days of heavy rain. This makes sense as the root word in Latin is inundationem, "an overflowing."

Example Sentences

The paper, "Fecal Bacteria Contamination of Floodwaters and a Coastal Waterway from Tidally-Driven Stormwater Network Inundation," is published in the open-access journal GeoHealth.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2024

On the Jersey Shore, the DEP is contemplating a new Inundation Risk Zone that would be preserved for parks, trails and boardwalks.

From Scientific American • Aug. 22, 2022

State emergency officials credit the North Carolina Flood Inundation Mapping and Alert Network with providing predictions about which buildings will experience flooding based on weather forecasts on history.

From Washington Times • Oct. 10, 2016

"Inundation of low-lying areas, extreme heat stress, droughts and storms are all magnified by the extra methane emissions," they authors write.

From The Guardian • Jul. 24, 2013

And I lived in that place until the fourth month of the season of the Inundation, and I abode in the palace at Zoan.

From The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians by Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir