submersion
Americannoun
-
the act of putting oneself or another person or thing under water or into some other enveloping medium.
Swimmers in the class are taught submersion and breath holding, floating, and kicking.
This durable tile is specially made to withstand submersion in swimming pools.
-
the act of subordinating or suppressing something.
Critics talked about the film’s submersion of individual character within a vision of group solidarity.
Etymology
Origin of submersion
First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin submersiōn-, stem of submersiō, also summersiō “a sinking,” from Latin submers(us) “sunk” (past participle of submergere “to dip under, immerse, sink”) + -iō -ion ( def. )
Explanation
Submersion is the act of being completely held under water (or liquid) for a long time. Scuba divers use breathing tanks to maintain submersion during long, deep dives. Words with -merse or -merge come from a Latin verb meaning to dip, soak or plunge. How risky is that plunge? It’s a matter of degree, and you can find that highest degree of risk in the prefix, sub, under. Submersion is often death-defying. The legendary entertainer Harry Houdini thrilled his audiences by undergoing submersion in a 100-gallon milk can! (Don’t try that at home.)
Vocabulary lists containing submersion
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.
Indeed, Titian's twelve-sheet print The Submersion of Pharaoh's Army in the Red tonal vigor and grandeur of notation, is to woodcut what the Sistine Chapel is to fresco.
From Time Magazine Archive
Submersion and stability were regulated by four cylinders into which water could be pumped at will.
From Aircraft and Submarines The Story of the Invention, Development, and Present-Day Uses of War's Newest Weapons by Abbot, Willis J. (Willis John)
Submersion is discovered to be a cure for some mental disorders, by altering the state of the body, as Van Helmont notices, "was happily practised in England."
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 2 by Disraeli, Isaac
An Experiment in Wax, that proveth Figure to have no Operation in Natation & Submersion.
From Discourse on Floating Bodies by Galilei, Galileo
The Proportion according to which the Submersion & Natation of Solids is made.
From Discourse on Floating Bodies by Galilei, Galileo
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.
