Meanings
present singular third person inundates · participle present inundating · participle past inundated · past inundated
- To overwhelm.
The agency was inundated with phone calls.
2 more examples
I don't know any quarter in England where you get such undeniable mutton—mutton that eats like mutton, instead of the nasty watery, stringy, turnipy stuff, neither mutton nor lamb, that other countries are inundated with.
1852, The New Monthly Magazine, page 310That books are pouring off the world’s presses at unprecedented rates is a fact often alluded to as a flood that is inundating libraries and the book trades.
1972, Carol A. Nemeyer, Scholarly Reprint Publishing in the United States, New York, N.Y.: R. R. Bowker Co., →ISBN, page 8
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
verbfill quickly beyond capacity; as with a liquid
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latininundātus
- Englishinundate
First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin inundātus, the perfect passive participle of inundō (“to flood, overflow”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- + undō (“to overflow, wave”), from unda (“wave”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek κατακλύζω, κατακλύζω
- κατακλύζω (kataklúzō)to cover with large amounts of water
- κατακλύζω (kataklúzō)to overwhelm
Bulgarian заливам, наводнявам
- заливам (zalivam)to cover with large amounts of water
- наводнявам (navodnjavam)to cover with large amounts of water
Catalan inundar, inundar
- inundarto cover with large amounts of water
- inundarto overwhelm
Chinese Mandarin 淹沒 /淹没, 氾濫 /氾滥
- 淹沒 /淹没 (yānmò)to cover with large amounts of water
- 氾濫 /氾滥 (fànlàn)to overwhelm
- 泛滥 (fànlàn)to overwhelm
Czech zaplavit, zaplavit
- zaplavitto cover with large amounts of water
- zaplavitto overwhelm
Dutch inunderen
- inunderento cover with large amounts of water
Finnish hukuttaa, hukuttaa
- hukuttaato cover with large amounts of water
- hukuttaato overwhelm
- hukkuato overwhelm
French inonder, inonder
- inonderto cover with large amounts of water
- inonderto overwhelm
German überfluten
- überflutento cover with large amounts of water
Hindi परिप्लावित
- परिप्लावित (pariplāvit)to cover with large amounts of water
Irish plúch
- plúchto overwhelm
Italian inondare, inondare
- inondareto cover with large amounts of water
- inondareto overwhelm
Māori whakaparawhenua
- whakaparawhenuato cover with large amounts of water
Persian غرقه کردن, اشباع کردن
- غرقه کردن (ġarq kardan)to cover with large amounts of water
- اشباع کردن (ešbâ' kardan)to overwhelm
Polish zalać, przytłoczyć
- zalaćto cover with large amounts of water
- przytłoczyćto overwhelm
Portuguese inundar, inundar
- inundarto cover with large amounts of water
- inundarto overwhelm
Russian залива́ть, зали́ть
- залива́ть (zalivátʹ)to cover with large amounts of water
- зали́ть (zalítʹ)to cover with large amounts of water
- затопля́ть (zatopljátʹ)to cover with large amounts of water
- затопи́ть (zatopítʹ)to cover with large amounts of water
- наводня́ть (navodnjátʹ)to cover with large amounts of water
- наводни́ть (navodnítʹ)to cover with large amounts of water
- зава́ливать (zaválivatʹ)to overwhelm
- завали́ть (zavalítʹ)to overwhelm
Spanish inundar, inundar
- inundarto cover with large amounts of water
- inundarto overwhelm
Swedish översvämma, överväldiga
- översvämmato cover with large amounts of water
- överväldigato overwhelm
- överhopato overwhelm
- översvämmato overwhelm
- tynga nerto overwhelm
Turkish sel basmak, su basmak
- sel basmakto cover with large amounts of water
- su basmakto cover with large amounts of water
Welsh gorlifo, gorlifo
- gorlifoto cover with large amounts of water
- gorlifoto overwhelm
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
inundate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inundate
“inundate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inundate. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inundate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inundate.
Source: inundate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.