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🌍 Land sinking 📉 A decrease
subsidence

subsidence

2 8.5
The sinking of land or a building into the ground
  • noun
  • /səbˈsaɪdəns/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hundimiento
  • In New Orleans, land subsidence has led to many homes being at risk of flooding.
  • subsidence damage
  • land subsidence
  • subsidence rate

Examples

  • Puerto Rico faces natural hazards including hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, subsidence, and flooding.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Groundwater depletion has caused considerable land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley.

    Academic text (2006)

  • In the past several hundred years, subsidence rates have ranged from one foot to four and a half feet per century.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Subsidence and surface collapse likewise result from a combination of natural factors and human activity.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The survey will also assess developing structural problems, subsidence, and water leakage.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Natural factors such as tectonic activity or the formation of sinkholes can also prompt subsidence.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Many slums are exposed to geographic hazards, such as flooding, subsidence, and local pollution from factories.

    Academic text (2016)

  • The report highlighted significant subsidence in the area due to continuous groundwater extraction.

  • The scientists warned that the subsidence of the coastal land may increase with rising sea levels.

Synonyms

depression
vssubsidence
  • Specialized
11 5.3

A low area of land that forms a hollow

describes downward movement of land or structures rather than a hollow
settling
vssubsidence
10 4.3

A slow sinking of things to a lower level, like a building foundation or dust on furniture

refers specifically to land or built structures moving downward
sinking
vssubsidence
3 4.4

A slow fall in strength, value, or mood

is physical downward movement of land or structures not abstract decline
subsiding
vssubsidence
  • Specialized
7.0

The ground or a surface slowly sinks to a lower level

can occur suddenly as well as gradually
sinkage
vssubsidence
  • Specialized
7.4

How far things sink into ground or water

focuses on land or structures rather than amounts or vehicles

Antonyms

rise
125 2.4

A small upward slope in land or a surface

elevation
42 4.2

Height of a place above sea level

How Deep

collapse
350 4.1
subsidence
  • Specialized
2 8.5
sinking
3 4.4

Surface Forms

subsidence singular
subsidence plural

Morphology

subsidence = subside (transparent) = sub + sid + ence

The geological sense 'sinking' is a direct nominalization of the verb 'subside' (to sink), making the formation and meaning transparent.

Etymology

Subsidence comes from the Latin parts sub- 'under' and sidere 'to sit'. Imagine the ground 'sitting down' or 'settling' lower, like a road that sinks, and that's why subsidence means the land or a building 'sinking'.