deluge

[del-yooj, -yoozh, del-ooj, -oozh, dih-looj, -loozh]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

deluged, deluging 

1. to flood; inundate.

2. to overrun; overwhelm.

   She was deluged with congratulatory letters.

deluge

¹

/ ˈdɛljuːdʒ /

noun

1. a great flood of water

2. torrential rain; downpour

3. an overwhelming rush or number

   a deluge of requests

verb

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

2. to overwhelm or overrun; inundate

Deluge

²

/ ˈdɛljuːdʒ /

noun

1. another name for the Flood

Other Word Forms

• undeluged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deluge¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of deluge¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin dīluvium a washing away, flood, from dīluere to wash away, drench, from di- _dis- ¹ + -luere, from lavere to wash

Synonym Study

See flood.

Example Sentences

The first day of talks at the two-week conference, known as COP30, was marked by a deluge so huge it caught the organizers by surprise.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The deluge has submerged more than 52,000 homes and left half a million households and businesses without power, according to reports.

Read more on BBC

Mora said the deluge of tense and sometimes violent encounters posted online could have an impact on Republican opinion surrounding immigration.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It has led to a global deluge of returns, costing fashion retailers an estimated £190bn a year as would-be shoppers wonder what size they're meant to buy from which store.

Read more on BBC

Adding to the uncertainty, a Wall Street deprived of federal data during the shutdown is now staring down a deluge of information about a U.S. economy showing signs of slowing.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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