Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

half-drowned

British  

adjective

  1. nearly dead or killed by immersion in liquid

    half-drowned crewmen lay on the planks

"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

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.

When youths age out of foster care, “we throw them in the river only to fish them out half-drowned downstream,” says Garen.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2023

In the opening moments of the show, Hazel flounders onscreen looking like a half-drowned mermaid — wet, disheveled, in a scaly green dress and smeared eye makeup.

From New York Times • Mar. 26, 2021

Artists squat in half-drowned buildings and drink in speakeasy bathhouses; the office towers of midtown have been turned into apartments with their own docks, dining halls, and rooftop farms.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 27, 2017

“It’s the new normal,” I think, as a beloved pear tree, half-drowned, loses its grip on the earth and falls over.

From Time • Mar. 20, 2014

Others were soaking wet and half-drowned from swimming across ponds and creeks.

From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "half-drowned" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com