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to drown

to drown

26 6.5
Try to get rid of a bad feeling by using something else, for example drinking
  • verb
  • /draʊn/
  • Informal
translation icon : ahogar las penas en
  • Do you drink to drown your sorrows?

And then I could watch them drowning themselves with with drugs.

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Examples

  • Believe me, my friend, I too have spent many nights trying to drown my sorrows in guacamole.

  • Grand M: Open a bottle for me, Little Red, and allow me to drown my misery in fermented blackberry juices.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I said this to myself over and over until all my other thoughts were drowned out.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • I hurried back to our room and forced myself to drown in sleep before he returned.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • So I at least had the candy to drown my sorrows in.

    Blog text (24)
  • Perhaps you cried, threw things at your TV, or drowned your sorrows in a pint of Rocky Road.

    Blog text (24)
  • Do you drink to drown your sorrows?

  • Again, she brought her glass to her lips, hoping to drown her discomfort.

  • I'm gonna go to the bar and drown my fear of flying in a bottle of Merlot.

Synonyms

to swallow
vsto drown
143 4.8

To completely cover or hide something so it disappears

focuses on removing feelings by overwhelming them rather than simple disappearance
to wash down
vsto drown
15 4.4

To swallow food with a drink or ease a bad feeling by drinking

is broader, using anything to overwhelm and hide an unpleasant feeling

Antonyms

367 3.8

To admit that something is true or real

359 4.4

Face a difficult problem or fear directly and bravely

Idioms

11 7.5

Try to forget sad feelings by eating or drinking alcohol

Phrasal Verbs

37 3.5

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

How Numb

to unfeel
1 9.9
to drown
  • Informal
26 6.5
to forget
1.8
to distract
513 2.1

Surface Forms

drown infinitive
drowned past
drowned past participle
drowning present participle
drowns third person singular

Etymology

Drown is linked to drink and the old idea of covering or filling with liquid, so a helpful way to remember 'drown your sorrows' is to imagine pouring a drink over your sadness to hide it. So to drown a feeling is to try to cover it up by using something else.