inundate
Americanverb
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to cover completely with water; overflow; flood; swamp
-
to overwhelm, as if with a flood
to be inundated with requests
Synonym Usage
See flood.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inundatesimple
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inundatessimple
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have inundatedperfect
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has inundatedperfect
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am inundatingprogressive
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are inundatingprogressive
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is inundatingprogressive
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have been inundatingperfect progressive
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has been inundatingperfect progressive
Past
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inundatedsimple
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had inundatedperfect
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was inundatingprogressive
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were inundatingprogressive
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had been inundatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inundate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin inundātus, past participle of inundāre “to flood, overflow,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + und(a) “wave” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To inundate means to quickly fill up or overwhelm, just like a flood. Your bathroom could be inundated with water if the pipes burst, and hopefully your inbox is inundated with nice emails on your birthday. Commonly used to refer to a deluge of water, inundate can also refer to an overflow of something less tangible, like information. Right before the holidays, toy stores are often inundated with eager parents scrambling to get the latest action figures and video games. Attempt to read the entire dictionary in one sitting and you'll inundate your mind with vocabulary. But you probably won't remember any of it tomorrow.
Vocabulary lists containing inundate
List 6
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Fast Food Nation
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"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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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.
See Examples For:
In a cruel twist, a phenomenon that can inundate the Eastern U.S. can fuel heat, fire, and drought elsewhere.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
Worryingly, Jones draws a close analogy with the present-day situation as he expects the deluge of planned IPO issuance this year, in the form of SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI, to inundate the market completely.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
David Joyce, a Seaport Research Partners media analyst, said part of the reason Tubi has been able to capture audiences—especially young people—is because the platform is easy to use and doesn’t inundate viewers with ads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
It also said emergency services were on standby at Greatford, near Stamford, to monitor the West Glen River, which it said threatened to inundate 49 properties in the area.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2025
It was a time when happiness was allowed to spill over, to inundate all rooms, to rule all faces, and to reign unmolested in the turbulent kingdom of the fighter pilot.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Some areas of Florida have been hit with flooding as knee-deep water inundates some coastal towns.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2023
On March 15, brown floodwater inundates a large swath of land.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2023
Given that reality, a devastating storm that inundates a large number of structures could force the area to consider where it is safe to rebuild — and where it isn’t.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2022
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” for instance, is smart enough to keep dialogue to a minimum as it inundates the theater with sound and color.
From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2021
When this was done, Fooltown said to herself, "See how Babytown inundates us with her products; we must see to it."
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 4 by Hamilton Wright Mabie
Thousands of Bangkok residents awoke in shelters on Sunday after flooding triggered by days of heavy rain in the Thai capital inundated homes and roads, with some starting to dry out their homes and belongings.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Rentner led visitors around by boat then, skimming over the inundated land.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Thunderstorms are common in Thailand at this time of year but extreme weather in recent days has inundated Bangkok's drainage system, causing traffic chaos on roads that are already famously congested.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
The area has a 1% annual probability of being inundated by a flood, according to FEMA.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Adding it to water and active bacteria would quickly get it inundated, replacing any population killed by the Toilet of Doom.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Areas such as the city of Seal Beach already saw flooding on Saturday, with water inundating parking lots, video showed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Quakes of that magnitude can even pose a risk of tsunami-like waves on the lake itself, with possible heights of more than 30 feet — capable of inundating many areas near the shoreline.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
A poisonous river of a stinking yellow liquid rushed downhill, inundating homes and fields, including the one where she grew corn to feed her eight children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
As the storm brushed past Hong Kong, steep waves crashed into land, inundating coastal areas, alongside powerful winds and rain, leaving more than 60 people injured.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
Future searches will be difficult: thousands of years ago, the melting glaciers raised the seas, inundating coastal settlements, if they existed.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
