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submerge

[suh b-murj]
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verb (used with object), sub·merged, sub·merg·ing.
  1. to put or sink below the surface of water or any other enveloping medium.
  2. to cover or overflow with water; immerse.
  3. to cover; bury; subordinate; suppress: His aspirations were submerged by the necessity of making a living.
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verb (used without object), sub·merged, sub·merg·ing.
  1. to sink or plunge under water or beneath the surface of any enveloping medium.
  2. to be covered or lost from sight.
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Origin of submerge

1600–10; < Latin submergere, equivalent to sub- sub- + mergere to dip, immerse; see merge
Related formssub·mer·gence, nounnon·sub·mer·gence, nounre·sub·merge, verb, re·sub·merged, re·sub·merg·ing.un·sub·merg·ing, adjective

Synonyms

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1. submerse. 2. flood, inundate, engulf.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for submergence

Historical Examples

  • Our submergence in a sea of conventionality of almost impenetrable density.

    The Book of the Damned

    Charles Fort

  • Even if you do your comedy next your submergence will be precisely the same.

    Black Oxen

    Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton

  • The rate of submergence has been estimated at about two feet per century.

    The Elements of Geology

    William Harmon Norton

  • The depression was such that the submergence came very quickly.

    A. D. 2000

    Alvarado M. Fuller

  • They reached the surface after about two hours of submergence.

    Aircraft and Submarines

    Willis J. Abbot.

British Dictionary definitions for submergence

submerge

submerse (səbˈmɜːs)

verb
  1. to plunge, sink, or dive or cause to plunge, sink, or dive below the surface of water, etc
  2. (tr) to cover with water or some other liquid
  3. (tr) to hide; suppress
  4. (tr) to overwhelm, as with work, difficulties, etc
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Derived Formssubmergence or submersion (səbˈmɜːʃən), noun

Word Origin

C17: from Latin submergere, from sub- + mergere to immerse
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 submergence

submerge

v.

c.1600, from Latin submergere "to plunge under, sink, overwhelm," from sub "under" (see sub-) + mergere "to plunge, immerse" (see merge). Intransitive use is from 1650s, made common 20c. in connection with submarines. Related: Submerged; submerging.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper