engulf
verb (used with object)
to swallow up in or as in a gulf; submerge.
was engulfing
-
past progressiveof engulf.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
The enthralled hush at the La Jolla Playhouse matinee I attended was engulfing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2025
IN MID-2020, as sourdough was engulfing kitchens across the country, I had a different baking drama afoot.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2022
About 6,000 people have been evacuated, as the lava was engulfing houses, schools and some banana plantations.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2021
Khachaturyan, who was 35, was from an ethnic Armenian family that had left the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan in 1988 to escape the sectarian conflict that was engulfing parts of the moribund Soviet empire.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 10, 2020
Obinze had never made as much of an effort as he did the rest of the day to seem normal, to tame the rage that was engulfing him.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
