inundate

[ in-uhn-deyt, -uhn-, in-uhn-deyt ]

/ ˈɪn ənˌdeɪt, -ʌn-, ɪnˈʌn deɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inundate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing.

to flood; cover or overspread with water; deluge.

to overwhelm: inundated with letters of protest.

RELATED WORDS

tide, flood, torrent

Nearby words

Origin of inundate

1615–25; < Latin inundātus, past participle of inundāre to flood, overflow, equivalent to in- in-² + und(a) wave + -ātus -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR inundate

2 glut.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inundate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

in·un·da·tion, nounin·un·da·tor, nounin·un·da·to·ry

[in-uhn-duh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ɪnˈʌn dəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectivesu·per·in·un·da·tion, noun

un·in·un·dat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for inundation

A Bear, a Fox, and an Opossum were attacked by an inundation.
Fantastic Fables|Ambrose Bierce
The Germans, however, made two more efforts to pierce the Belgian line north and south of the inundation.
A Short History of the Great War|A. F. Pollard
The principal labour of the month consisted in preparing for wheat the ground that the inundation had devastated.
An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Vol. 2|David Collins
During the inundation it is deeply stained with the red argillaceous soil brought down from the Abyssinian highlands.
Ancient Egypt|George Rawlinson

During the months of inundation the whole valley is under water.
The World and Its People: Book VII|Anna B. Badlam

British Dictionary definitions for inundation

inundate

/ (ˈɪnʌnˌdeɪt) /

verb (tr)

to cover completely with water; overflow; flood; swamp

to overwhelm, as if with a floodto be inundated with requests

Derived Formsinundant or inundatory, adjectiveinundation, nouninundator, noun

Word Origin for inundate

C17: from Latin inundāre to flood, from unda wave

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

Word Origin and History for inundation (1 of 2)

inundation

early 15c., from Latin inundationem (nominative inundatio) "an overflowing," noun of action from past participle stem of inundare "to overflow," from in- "onto" (see in- (2)) + undare "to flow," from unda "wave" (see water).

Word Origin and History for inundation (1 of 2)

inundate

1620s, back-formation from inundation, or else from Latin inundatus, past participle of inundare "to overflow, run over" (see inundation). Related: Inundated; inundating.