to drown

Examples

• All

• Overhead, the rain was a pounding clutter on the metal roof panels, drowning out all sounds of the jungle.

  Fiction book (1998)

• Anything left in this valley will be drowned in a beautiful ocean of oil.

  Bigfoot Family (2020)

• Take these two lizards out and drown them.

  Willow (1988)

• She's going to drown, man.

  The Last Boy Scout (1991)

• I wish I could just drown every last sorrow in a good, stiff drink.

  Carnage (2011)

• We could see, too, the white skeletons of trees that had been drowned by the reservoir.

  Academic text (1990)

• Hydroelectric dams, which are common in the Pacific Northwest, have been criticized for drowning riverside habitats and decimating salmon runs.

  Academic text (2006)

• The child accidentally fell into the pool and started to drown before he was rescued.

• She was so overwhelmed with work that she felt like she would drown in her responsibilities.

• The heavy rain caused the river to rise quickly, threatening to drown the nearby fields.

Synonyms

S

to sink

vsto drown

258 1.0

To go down below the surface of water and become underwater

describes covering from an external action rather than sinking by itself

S

to swallow

vsto drown

143 4.8

To completely cover or hide something so it disappears

focuses on literal full covering by liquid rather than broad engulfing or absorption

S

to soak

vsto drown

141 1.0

Make something very wet by putting it into water or other liquid

stresses being wet rather than the complete physical covering under liquid

S

to submerge

vsto drown

42 3.9

To put something completely under water or another liquid

is the same idea of full covering rather than light wetting

I

to inundate

vsto drown

40 6.8

To cover a place with water or give someone too much to deal with

is about single-item complete covering rather than a wide flooding event

D

to drench

vsto drown

34 3.0

Make someone or something completely wet with a lot of liquid

is about full covering in liquid rather than simply making very wet

G

to go under

vsto drown

15 4.4

Sink below the water and become covered by it

is the act of covering something completely rather than the motion of sinking

I

to immerse

vsto drown

9 4.2

Put something completely into a liquid to cover it

is similar but focuses on complete covering rather than the dipping action

D

to douse

vsto drown

3 4.9

To put something briefly into a liquid

involves full covering but not the brief suddenness of the dipping action

S

to submerse

vsto drown

1 7.3

To put something under the surface of water

expresses full covering as well but without stressing the causing action

S

to souse

vsto drown

1 8.8

To soak something completely in liquid

focuses on full covering by liquid rather than the idea of thorough wetting

W

to whelm

vsto drown

• Archaic

9.3

To cover something completely with water or soil

means full covering too but is less specific about the burying force

D

to dowse

vsto drown

7.8

To pour water over something so it becomes completely wet

implies total covering by liquid rather than the act of pouring itself

Antonyms

E

to expose

146 2.8

Make something visible by removing a cover or letting light reach it

U

to uncover

37 2.7

Remove a cover to show what is under it

Idioms

D

to drown one's sorrows

• Informal

11 7.5

Try to forget sad feelings by eating or drinking alcohol

Phrasal Verbs

D

to drown out

37 3.5

To make a sound so loud that you cannot hear another sound

How Wet

to drown

31 1.0

to submerge

42 3.9

to drench

34 3.0

to soak

141 1.0

to wet

26 1.0

to moisten

7 3.0

Surface Forms

Etymology