inundation
Americannoun
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the condition of being flooded.
Researchers are warning that accelerated sea level change threatens hundreds of thousands of coastal homes with inundation.
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a flood.
Areas shaded in purple on the map may see an inundation of 3 to 12 feet.
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the condition or state of being overwhelmed.
Angkor Wat, the magnificent temple of the Khmer Empire, faces inundation by tourists and environmental dangers.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inundation
First recorded in 1400–50; from Latin inundātiōn-, stem of inundātiō “a flooding,” from inundāre “to flood, overflow”; see inundate ( def. ), -ion ( def. )
Explanation
An overabundance of something is an inundation. If you got an inundation of requests for your famous chocolate cupcakes, you better get baking! If you advertised a free piano in the local newspaper, you might get an inundation of emails in response, and your picnic on the grass could be ruined by an inundation of ants. Inundation can also refer specifically to a flood of water, like when a riverbank is at risk of inundation after several days of heavy rain. This makes sense as the root word in Latin is inundationem, "an overflowing."
Vocabulary lists containing inundation
Romeo and Juliet
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Water Hazard: Words for Too Much Moisture
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A Tale of Two Cities
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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.
"Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore, including roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses."
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
Bond portfolios have gone from scarcity in tech to a sudden inundation over the past decade.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Three days after the inundation, one of the largest search-and-rescue efforts in recent Texas history was shifting towards a recovery operation.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2025
Lone-wolf book banners also use inundation, most notably Florida man Bruce Friedman, who has bragged about challenging at least one book a day since moving from New York in 2020.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2025
But Mayor Wamura, remembering the 1933 tsunami and stories about the 1896 inundation, refused to budge.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
