wash over
Britishverb
-
(of an emotion) to affect (a person) suddenly and profoundly
-
(of an event) to have little effect on (a person)
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.
Few of her words would wash over anyone – they would splash a listener in the face and demand a reaction.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Readers willing to let some of the technical details wash over them are rewarded with a lively picture of the contemporary frontiers of science where, the authors argue, certainty does not belong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Instead of revealing fine details, they tend to wash over microscopic samples.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 17, 2026
We sit on a bench and let it wash over us, wondering what ghosts of the lost generation would make of this, our Spain.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he’d sunk into a hot bath.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
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.
