inundate

verb

in·​un·​date ˈi-(ˌ)nən-ˌdāt 

inundated; inundating

transitive verb

1

: overwhelm

was inundated with phone calls

2

: to cover with a flood : overflow

inundation

ˌi-(ˌ)nən-ˈdā-shən 

noun

inundator

ˈi-(ˌ)nən-ˌdā-tər 

noun

inundatory

i-ˈnən-də-ˌtȯr-ē 

adjective

Did you know?

In the summer of 1993, record rains in the Midwest caused the Mississippi River to overflow its banks, break through levees, and inundate the entire countryside; such an inundation hadn't been seen for at least a hundred years. By contrast, the Nile River inundated its entire valley every year, bringing the rich black silt that made the valley one of the most fertile places on earth. (The inundations ceased with the completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1970.) Whenever a critical issue is being debated, the White House and Congressional offices are inundated with phone calls and emails, just as a town may be inundated with complaints when it starts charging a fee for garbage pickup.

Synonyms

• deluge
• drown
• engulf
• flood
• gulf
• overflow
• overwhelm
• submerge
• submerse
• swamp

Examples of inundate in a Sentence

Rising rivers could inundate low-lying areas.

water from the overflowing bathtub inundated the bathroom floor

Recent Examples on the Web

Lines at downtown precincts were busy and people who have been inundated with out-of-town organizers and ads for months could be heard speculating about the results on their cellphones, anxious to see a conclusion to the contest. —Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024

Homes were inundated, cars were stacked atop one another, and personal belongings were left mired in sludge. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024

Parts of Yilan and Hualien counties were inundated by heavy rain, but many farmers in the largely rural areas had already brought in their crops in anticipation of damage from the storm. —Associated Press, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024

Moreover, floods can lead to emergency departments in surrounding communities becoming inundated with patients. —Henna Hundal, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin inundatus, past participle of inundare, from in- + unda wave — more at water

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

inundate

verb

in·​un·​date ˈin-(ˌ)ən-ˌdāt 

inundated; inundating

1

: to cover with a flood : deluge entry 1

2

: overwhelm sense 2

inundated with email

inundation

ˌin-(ˌ)ən-ˈdā-shən 

noun