Skip to main content
to immerse in

to immerse in

28 4.2
To become fully involved in an activity or subject
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɪˈmɜrs ɪn/
translation icon : sumergirse en
  • At the same time, during the summer, Marisa was fully immersed in her native Spanish language at home.
  • become immersed in
  • immersed in American culture
  • deeply immersed in

I don't feel I'm immersed in it till I go.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The artist was deeply immersed in her painting, forgetting the world around her.

  • No students have ever been so thoroughly immersed in the here and now as ours today.

    Academic text (1998)
  • And I think I just now want to be immersed in the good stuff.

  • I think I just got so excited and like immersed in the experience.

  • And we were just immersed in this life.

  • We just enjoy being immersed in that environment and enjoy it while we're there.

  • Yeah, I mean, I get to be immersed in and document human progress.

  • I spent five months, every waking hour just completely immersed in this one thing.

  • And sometimes we get immersed in something to the point that we kind of lose our compass.

  • But I just then I felt this overwhelming desire to be immersed in nature again.

Synonyms

to engage
vsto immerse in
117 3.5

To keep someone's full attention

suggests full absorption rather than only being involved or merely occupied
to immerse
vsto immerse in
59 4.8

Make someone fully involved in an activity or interest

is the phrasal expression used with a following preposition in usage
to steep
vsto immerse in
27 5.8

To give yourself fully to a subject or activity

emphasizes deep involvement without necessarily implying total devotion
to lose oneself
vsto immerse in
22 5.1

To become so focused on something that you do not notice anything else

describes deep involvement without implying loss of awareness
to engross
vsto immerse in
17 5.8

To hold someone's full attention

covers deep involvement that can include activity beyond mere attention absorption
to soak up
vsto immerse in
  • Informal
16 3.9

To take in and enjoy the atmosphere or information

leans more toward active participation rather than mainly receiving experiences
to drink in
vsto immerse in
7 5.1

To look at or listen to something with full attention and enjoy it

applies more broadly to total involvement, not only sensory enjoyment
to submerge in
vsto immerse in
6 5.0

To put something completely under water or to become very involved in an activity

focuses on deep involvement in activities rather than literal sinking in liquid

Antonyms

82 5.3

To stop being part of or connected to something

How Involved

to immerse in
28 4.2
to delve
61 4.7
to get into
769 3.1
to engage
676 3.4
to take part
169 1.4

Surface Forms

immerse in infinitive
immersed in past participle
immersing in present participle
immerses in third person singular

Morphology

immerse + in

The sense 'to become deeply involved' is directly built from 'immerse' (to be wholly involved) with 'in' specifying the domain, so a learner who knows both words can readily infer the phrase meaning. This verb + preposition composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and follows standard English usage, making it transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Immerse in comes from the picture of putting something completely into water: to immerse is to dip it deep in a liquid so it is covered. So, to immerse in an activity means you are fully surrounded by it and 'deeply involved'.