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• deluge
  deluge

  noun

  a great flood of water; inundation; flood.
• Deluge
  Deluge

  noun

  another name for the Flood

deluge

American  

[del-yooj, -yoozh, del-ooj, -oozh, dih-looj, -loozh] / ˈdɛl judʒ, -juʒ, ˈdɛl udʒ, -uʒ, dɪˈludʒ, -ˈluʒ /

noun

deluges plural

1. a great flood of water; inundation; flood.

2. a drenching rain; downpour.

3. anything that overwhelms like a flood.

   a deluge of mail.

   Synonyms:

   catastrophe, cataclysm

4. the Deluge. flood.

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verb (used with object)

deluges, present (3rd person singular) deluged, past participle, past deluging present participle

1. to flood; inundate.

2. to overrun; overwhelm.

   She was deluged with congratulatory letters.

deluge ¹ British  

/ ˈdɛljuːdʒ /

noun

1. a great flood of water

2. torrential rain; downpour

3. an overwhelming rush or number

   a deluge of requests

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verb

1. to flood, as with water; soak, swamp, or drown

2. to overwhelm or overrun; inundate

Deluge ² British  

/ ˈdɛljuːdʒ /

noun

1. another name for the Flood

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Synonym Usage

See flood.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undeluged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• deluges
  plural

Participles

• deluging
  present
• deluged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• deluge
  simple
• deluges
  simple
• have deluged
  perfect
• has deluged
  perfect
• am deluging
  progressive
• are deluging
  progressive
• is deluging
  progressive
• have been deluging
  perfect progressive
• has been deluging
  perfect progressive

Past

• deluged
  simple
• had deluged
  perfect
• was deluging
  progressive
• were deluging
  progressive
• had been deluging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will deluge
  simple
• will have deluged
  perfect
• will be deluging
  progressive
• will have been deluging
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

During a test of the shaft deluge system, airflow sensors on the 4850 Level recorded an unexpected increase in air movement.

From Science Daily • Jul. 6, 2026

The deluge of claims came after the state changed the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, giving victims a new window to sue.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

But even with changing menus, there has still been a deluge of chippies closing.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

But Microsoft and Meta were hit hard by worries about their capital spending plans, which caused the Mag Seven ETF to drop about 0.5% the day after the earnings deluge.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

The riptide was roaring after them, threatening to engulf the three puny boats with a deluge of ice and slush.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Related Words

• douse
• drench
• engulf
• flood
• overflow
• overrun
• overwhelm
• soak
• submerge
• swamp