submersion

American  

[suhb-mur-zhuhn, -shuhn] / səbˈmɜr ʒən, -ʃən /

noun

1. the act of putting oneself or another person or thing under water or into some other enveloping medium.

   Swimmers in the class are taught submersion and breath holding, floating, and kicking.

   This durable tile is specially made to withstand submersion in swimming pools.

2. the act of subordinating or suppressing something.

   Critics talked about the film’s submersion of individual character within a vision of group solidarity.

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Etymology

Origin of submersion

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin submersiōn-, stem of submersiō, also summersiō “a sinking,” from Latin submers(us) “sunk” (past participle of submergere “to dip under, immerse, sink”) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

"The submersion caused by the rapid rise in sea level, followed by the abandonment of fishing structures, protective works, and habitation sites, must have left a lasting impression."

From BBC

The primitive submarine, which held enough air for about a thirty-minute submersion, was about seven feet long and about six feet tall.

From Literature

What I miss most is closing my eyes at night, then opening them and it’s morning, that total submersion, yesterday’s problems wiped away like algebraic equations on a junior-high blackboard.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I Saw the TV Glow” captures this obsessive, anticipatory submersion in a long-form weekly TV show, to the point where it ignites the same feeling.

From New York Times

"Drowning contributes due to the likelihood of submersion into the pool as he lapsed into unconsciousness; coronary artery disease contributes due to exacerbation of ketamine induced myocardial effects on the heart."

From BBC

Related Words

• deluge
• flash flood
• overabundance
• torrent