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Glite Dictionary
to sink in

to sink in

59 4.1
To slowly understand and accept something
  • phrasal verb
  • /sɪŋk ɪn/
  • Informal
translation icon : asimilar
  • After hearing the news, it took him a while to let it sink in that he had won the competition.
  • sink in fully
  • time to sink in

And, and it was kind of sinking in what we've just done.

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Examples

  • Ali paused to let his history lesson sink in for a moment.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I guess I was just... in shock, and I needed to let it sink in.

    The Lilac Thief (2019)

  • And they let that moment sink in and then they go, not tonight though.

    Tim Ferriss

  • It's really kind of starting to sink in and it's, it's, it's very tough.

  • I feel that the time over which things have to sink in is longer than a week in many cases.

  • Is it starting to sink in yet?

    They Cloned Tyrone (2023)

  • I suppose it is finally starting to sink in.

    The Last Earth Girl (2020)

  • It's starting to sink in.

    The Boost (1988)

  • The routine of the classroom and your expectations may take a while to sink in.

    Academic text (2009)

  • As if the reality had finally sunk in, he looked quickly away, shoulders slumping.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

to click
vsto sink in
87 3.4

Suddenly become clear and easy to understand in your mind

takes place gradually over time rather than in a sudden moment
to come home
vsto sink in
  • Informal
82 5.0

An idea or fact finally feels very clear and real to someone

is about steady gradual realization rather than intense emotional impact
to get through
vsto sink in
74 3.1

To make an idea or feeling understood by someone

focuses on internal gradual realization rather than communication success
to dawn
vsto sink in
57 3.6

To begin to be understood and become clear

is about being fully realized and accepted over time
to fall into place
vsto sink in
41 3.9

To become clear and easy to understand after confusion

is more about slow personal acceptance than arranging parts into order
to penetrate
vsto sink in
36 6.4

Understand the true meaning or nature of something

involves slow acceptance and full appreciation rather than analytic insight

How Clear

to hit home
26 5.5
to dawn on
49 3.7
to sink in
  • Informal
59 4.1
to register
48 3.4

Surface Forms

sink in infinitive
sinking in present participle
sinks in third person singular
sank in past
sunk in past participle

Morphology

sink + in

The meaning 'to become fully understood or appreciated' is metaphorically derived from the image of something physically sinking 'in' (i.e., moving into an interior space), so the particle 'in' signals internalization and 'sink' conveys gradual descent into the mind. Because this requires a metaphorical mapping from a physical motion to an epistemic state, a B1 learner who knows the words may not reliably predict the idiomatic sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb sink in comes from the image of something slowly moving down into soft ground or water, like a stone that sinks in the mud. That slow, gradual movement is why the phrase means something slowly becomes 'understood' or 'realized'.