inundate

verb

in·​un·​date ˈi-(ˌ)nən-ˌdāt How to pronounce inundate (audio)
inundated; inundating

transitive verb

1
: overwhelm
was inundated with phone calls
2
: to cover with a flood : overflow
inundation noun
inundator noun
inundatory 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.

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 But in online spaces inundated with a near-constant stream of posts and comments, rules are sometimes more like suggestions. Marisa Iati, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024 Last year, high rivers inundated the area up to 4 miles wide at Dos Rios Ranch. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024 Explicit images of Taylor Swift inundated social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, while fake robocalls of Biden’s voice were sent to voters ahead of the New Hampshire primary, urging them not to vote. TIME, 5 Feb. 2024 During the atmospheric river storms that soaked the region in January 2023, San Jose officials said the city narrowly avoided a slew of widespread damage from creeks topping their banks, but flooding still inundated communities further south near Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Katie Lauer, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2024 Home buyers are inundated with time-sensitive emails and phone calls: Sign this. Nerdwallet, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 That means, if sea level rise is left unchecked, there will soon be pockets of South Florida where that groundwater meets the surface all the time, leaving the spot permanently inundated. Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024 The rising waters snaked upstream, inundating the main river and dozens of its side canyons. Cassidy Randall, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2024 The American healthcare system is inundated with gaps regarding the inequality of care, especially for people of color. Camryn J. Wells, Parents, 17 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inundate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of inundate was in 1590

Dictionary Entries Near inundate

Cite this Entry

“Inundate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inundate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

inundate

verb
in·​un·​date ˈin-(ˌ)ən-ˌdāt How to pronounce inundate (audio)
inundated; inundating
1
: to cover with a flood : deluge entry 1
2
: overwhelm sense 2
inundated with e-mail
inundation noun

More from Merriam-Webster on inundate

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