as in flooding
to cover with a flood
high waves from the hurricane engulfed large areas of the coastal community
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Recent Examples of engulfing
Images circulating on social media show a massive fire engulfing the Waldo's store.
—
NPR, 2 Nov. 2025
Israel’s self-defense policies risk engulfing the region in turmoil and harming the country’s stability.
—Yossi Shelley, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025
An opera which seriously addressed that theme would be equal to the crisis that is engulfing the American experiment.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Videos on social media and broadcast by CNN affiliates showed fierce flames engulfing the beachfront property with plumes of smoke rising into the air.
—Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2025
In fact, the corona is so hot that the particles shoot out of the Sun, escaping from the Sun’s gravity, engulfing the entire solar system.
—Samuel Badman, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2025
Advertisement So, what to do about the toxic legacies of Abenomics engulfing Japan?
—Jeff Kingston, Time, 4 Oct. 2025
Macrophages, immune cells that live in our tissues, are responsible for engulfing and digesting bacteria, dead and damaged cells, and harmful invaders like cancer cells.
—New Atlas, 23 Sep. 2025
His powers included manipulating fire, engulfing his body in flames, superhuman strength and flying.
—Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
NPR, 2 Nov. 2025
Israel’s self-defense policies risk engulfing the region in turmoil and harming the country’s stability.
—Yossi Shelley, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025
An opera which seriously addressed that theme would be equal to the crisis that is engulfing the American experiment.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Videos on social media and broadcast by CNN affiliates showed fierce flames engulfing the beachfront property with plumes of smoke rising into the air.
—Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2025
In fact, the corona is so hot that the particles shoot out of the Sun, escaping from the Sun’s gravity, engulfing the entire solar system.
—Samuel Badman, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2025
Advertisement So, what to do about the toxic legacies of Abenomics engulfing Japan?
—Jeff Kingston, Time, 4 Oct. 2025
Macrophages, immune cells that live in our tissues, are responsible for engulfing and digesting bacteria, dead and damaged cells, and harmful invaders like cancer cells.
—New Atlas, 23 Sep. 2025
His powers included manipulating fire, engulfing his body in flames, superhuman strength and flying.
—Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for engulfing
Verb
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Theories range from the Edmund Fitzgerald striking a shoal and suffering bottom damage to flooding through the freighter's hatch covers, which filled the ship with water and sank it, to rogue waves, to structural flaws in the ship that the 1975 storm made deadly.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
9 Nov. 2025
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Meanwhile, the safety net designed to financially protect homeowners from flooding sits frozen amid the government shutdown.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Victorinox furthers its minimalist focus by using the Alox Refined treatment on three light, simple tools that provide a baseline of utility without overwhelming one's pocket.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Nov. 2025
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Elderly patients deserve products that soothe without overwhelming.—
Jahan Marcu,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Officials said most people died from drowning as the storm triggered flash floods and caused rivers to swell above their danger levels.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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On May 18, Kiser's 3-year-old son Trigg died after a drowning accident at their home in Chandler, Arizona.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Flooding from Hurricane Melissa killed at least 25 people in Haiti after the storm caused extensive damage in Jamaica, submerging entire communities underwater and destroying homes across the Caribbean island.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
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The opening image somersaults backward twice before settling quietly just over the surface of an undisturbed reservoir, then submerging to reveal digital animation of its underwater topography.—
Anne Reeve,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Engulfing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/engulfing. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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