submerged

American  

[suhb-murjd] / səbˈmɜrdʒd /

adjective

1. under the surface of water or any other enveloping medium; inundated.

2. hidden, covered, or unknown.

   There are many submerged facts which could have a bearing on the case.

3. poverty-stricken; destitute; impoverished.

   a program to aid the submerged socioeconomic groups.

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submerged British  

/ səbˈmɜːdʒd, səbˈmɜːst /

adjective

1. (of plants or plant parts) growing beneath the surface of the water

2. hidden; obscured

3. overwhelmed or overburdened

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Other Word Forms

• half-submerged adjective
• nonsubmerged adjective
• semisubmerged adjective
• unsubmerged adjective

Etymology

Origin of submerged

First recorded in 1790–1800; submerge + -ed ²

Explanation

When something is submerged, it's under water — like a submarine, a car caught in a flood, or your feet in a wading pool. Use the adjective submerged to describe something that stays under the surface of the water. The flood in your basement might cause your exercise equipment to be submerged, and you probably snorkel with your face submerged. You can also use submerged to describe something that's covered up. For example, you might try to keep your sad feelings about your dog's death submerged when you're with your friends.

Example Sentences

Famous examples include Yellowstone in the United States, Toba in Indonesia, and the largely submerged Kikai caldera in Japan.

From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026

In Nyakach, in the west, children walked through knee-high water and residents scooped water from inundated houses -- though some were submerged up to the roof.

From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026

But the return has revealed the storm’s full impact: homes pushed off foundations, streets still partially submerged, and families sifting through mud-soaked belongings in search of anything salvageable.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026

Six years later it was submerged, only to come and go with drought cycles that have left it increasingly embalmed in salt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

Many of the fair’s fifty-seven miles of roadway were still either submerged or coated with mud, and others had been gouged and trenched by vehicles that had used the roads while they were still sodden.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• broad
• buried
• deep-seated
• far
• profound
• rooted
• wide