inundated
Americanadjective
-
flooded.
Desperate people in the inundated areas prayed for rescue even as the waters kept rising.
-
overwhelmed by a great volume of something.
The first congratulatory email was a high for all of us; then we got another, and another, and by the end of the day we had an inundated inbox.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inundated
Explanation
Stand on a busy street corner handing out free cupcakes, and you'll be inundated with hungry customers. Inundated means "overwhelmed". The Latin root of inundated is inundare, literally "to overflow," and "overflowing" is still one of the meanings of the adjective inundated. A river bank can become inundated with water, or flooded, just as a movie star can be inundated with autograph requests.
Vocabulary lists containing inundated
100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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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.
Venice and Culver City and the southeastern county towns and farmlands were inundated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Over the following week, the previously unknown researcher was a constant presence on major television networks and was inundated with notes from book publishers and podcast hosts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
A GNS Science review of the 2011 disaster reported a 96% survival rate among people in inundated areas and highlighted the importance of education and evacuation procedures.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
He said the area had been "inundated" with national press.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The city was inundated with middle-class arrivals from the Midwest, especially in the years leading up to the Great Depression.
From "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser
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.
