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Synonyms

sink in

British  

verb

  1. (intr, adverb) to enter or penetrate the mind

    eventually the news sank in
"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
sink in Idioms  

  1. Penetrate the mind, be absorbed, as in The news of the crash didn't sink in right away. [Late 1300s]

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.

Back in Iran, a sense of the inevitable had begun to sink in for many there.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

“Let this sink in for a moment — zero job growth versus an average of almost 2 million for the 10 years prior to 2025,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026

"Only afterwards did it really sink in what we had done," Anshuur told the BBC.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026

He pauses to let this sink in — maybe for the both of us.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026

I glared at her, letting it sink in.

From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli

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.