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deluge

[ del-yooj, -yoozh, del-ooj, -oozh, dih-looj, -loozh ]
/ ˈdɛl yudʒ, -yuʒ, ˈdɛl udʒ, -uʒ, dɪˈludʒ, -ˈluʒ /
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noun
a great flood of water; inundation; flood.
a drenching rain; downpour.
anything that overwhelms like a flood: a deluge of mail.
the Deluge. flood (def. 3).
verb (used with object), del·uged, del·ug·ing.
to flood; inundate.
to overrun; overwhelm: She was deluged with congratulatory letters.
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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- di2 + -luere, combining form of lavere “to wash”) + -ium -ium

synonym study for deluge

1. See flood.

OTHER WORDS FROM deluge

un·del·uged, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use deluge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for deluge (1 of 2)

deluge
/ (ˈdɛljuːdʒ) /

noun
a great flood of water
torrential rain; downpour
an overwhelming rush or numbera deluge of requests
verb (tr)
to flood, as with water; soak, swamp, or drown
to overwhelm or overrun; inundate

Word Origin for deluge

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

British Dictionary definitions for deluge (2 of 2)

Deluge
/ (ˈdɛljuːdʒ) /

noun
the Deluge another name for the Flood
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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