sink in
phrasal verb
sank in or sunk in; sunk in; sinking in; sinks in
: to become completely known, felt, or understood
I had to tell him what to do over and over before it finally sank in.
The fact that she's left me still hasn't really sunk in.
Examples of sink in in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For much of the public, the full extent of the destruction does not yet seem to have sunk in, partly because the military censor has prohibited publishing the location of direct hits.
—
Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 11 July 2025
The Firehouse Five Plus Two jazz band made up of Disney animators sunk in the asphalt that had been laid that morning.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 9 July 2025
Only many days after the start of the heat wave would the magnitude of the tragedy begin to sink in, as newspaper articles and nightly news reports tallied hundreds of deaths across Chicago.
—Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2025
As the initial shock of the terrorist attacks morphed into trauma, the very real long-term cancer risk posed by the smoke and debris began to sink in among New York’s medical community.
—Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sink in
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Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 11 July 2025
The Firehouse Five Plus Two jazz band made up of Disney animators sunk in the asphalt that had been laid that morning.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 9 July 2025
Only many days after the start of the heat wave would the magnitude of the tragedy begin to sink in, as newspaper articles and nightly news reports tallied hundreds of deaths across Chicago.
—Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2025
As the initial shock of the terrorist attacks morphed into trauma, the very real long-term cancer risk posed by the smoke and debris began to sink in among New York’s medical community.
—Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sink in
Cite this Entry
“Sink in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sink%20in. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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