inundated; inundating
Synonyms of inundate

transitive verb

1
: overwhelm
was inundated with phone calls
2
: to cover with a flood : overflow

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In 1955, a Christmas Eve levee failure at Shanghai Bend on the Feather River inundated 90% of Yuba City and killed 38. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 20 Sep. 2026 The deaths came amid late-season monsoon storms pounding the Navajo Nation, damaging roads, inundating remote communities and prompting a state of emergency. — Jessica Hill, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026 At Tabernacle of Glory, a nondenominational Christian megachurch in Miami Gardens, pastors are being inundated with requests from members who need help with food, rent and legal services. — Lauren Costantino september 19, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2026 Mud, water and rock inundated several riverside communities near the border with China, killing more than 1,400 people and leaving thousands more missing. — Tarun Gopalakrishnan, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inundate

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Inundate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inundate. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

Kids Definition

inundated; inundating
1
: to cover with a flood : deluge entry 1
2
: overwhelm sense 2
inundated with email
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster