Meanings
present singular third person sinks in · participle present sinking in · past sank in · participle past sunk in · participle past sunken in
- idiomaticintransitiveTo become completely known, felt, or understood.
The gravity of what I had done hadn't sunken in yet.
1 more example
He knows he's been naughty, but it will take a while for it to sink in.
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
verbbecome clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian разбирам, асимилирам
- разбирам (razbiram)to become completely known, felt, or understood
- асимилирам (asimiliram)to become completely known, felt, or understood
Dutch inzinken
- inzinkento become completely known, felt, or understood
Finnish valjeta, mennä perille
- valjetato become completely known, felt, or understood
- mennä perilleto become completely known, felt, or understood
- tulla ymmärretyksito become completely known, felt, or understood
German richtig ankommen
- richtig ankommento become completely known, felt, or understood
Hungarian leülepedik
- leülepedikto become completely known, felt, or understood
Italian assimilarsi
- assimilarsito become completely known, felt, or understood
Norwegian Bokmål synke inn, gå inn
- synke innto become completely known, felt, or understood
- gå innto become completely known, felt, or understood
Portuguese cair a ficha, assimilar
- cair a fichato become completely known, felt, or understood
- assimilarto become completely known, felt, or understood
Spanish asimilar
- asimilarto become completely known, felt, or understood
Cite this entry
sink in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sink%20in
“sink in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sink%20in. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sink in,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sink%20in.
Source: sink in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.