sunken

S1U1N1K5E1N1
/ˈsʌŋkən/

adjective

Caused, by natural or unnatural means, to be depressed (lower than the surrounding area) or submerged

“The sunken ship lay at a depth of 100 feet”

Similar
deep-setrecessedhollow
Less commonScrabble 10
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Meanings

verb
  1. archaicparticiplepastpast participle of sink
adjectivesunken (not comparable)
  1. not comparableCaused, by natural or unnatural means, to be depressed (lower than the surrounding area) or submerged

    The sunken ship lay at a depth of 100 feet

    1 more example

    sunken mountain ranges I took for islands

    1986, Reginald Shepherd, “On Not Being White”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 52
  2. not comparableSeeming to have fallen deeper back into the face due to tiredness, illness, or old age.

    She looked old and thin with sunken cheeks and hollow eyes.

    1 more example

    The heartbreak will take some getting over; the sunken forms of the players at the full-time whistle said as much.

    2023 July 20, Suzanne Wrack, “Spain win Women’s World Cup as Olga Carmona strike breaks England hearts”, in The Guardian

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivehaving a sunken area

Similar
deep-setrecessedhollow
Also see
deep-sethollowrecessed

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Bulgarian потопен, потънал
  • потопен (potopen)depressed or submerged
  • потънал (potănal)depressed or submerged
  • хлътнал (hlătnal)of eyes or cheeks seeming to have fallen deeper back into the face.
Esperanto kava
  • kavadepressed or submerged
Finnish uponnut, upoksissa oleva
  • uponnutdepressed or submerged
  • upoksissa olevadepressed or submerged
German gesunken, versunken
  • gesunkendepressed or submerged
  • versunkendepressed or submerged
  • eingefallenof eyes or cheeks seeming to have fallen deeper back into the face.
Greek βυθισμένος
  • βυθισμένος (vythisménos)depressed or submerged
Hungarian elsüllyedt, elmerült
  • elsüllyedtdepressed or submerged
  • elmerültdepressed or submerged
  • süllyesztettdepressed or submerged
  • mélyítettdepressed or submerged
  • beesettof eyes or cheeks seeming to have fallen deeper back into the face.
Latin summersus
  • summersusdepressed or submerged
Māori mōroto, mōroto
  • mōrotodepressed or submerged
  • mōrotoof eyes or cheeks seeming to have fallen deeper back into the face.
Romanian scufundat, afundat
  • scufundatdepressed or submerged
  • afundatdepressed or submerged
Russian затону́вший, зато́пленный
  • затону́вший (zatonúvšij)depressed or submerged
  • зато́пленный (zatóplennyj)depressed or submerged
  • впалый (vpalyj)of eyes or cheeks seeming to have fallen deeper back into the face.
Swedish nedsjunken, insjunken
  • nedsjunkendepressed or submerged
  • insjunkenof eyes or cheeks seeming to have fallen deeper back into the face.
Turkish batık, batkın
  • batıkdepressed or submerged
  • batkındepressed or submerged
  • batıkof eyes or cheeks seeming to have fallen deeper back into the face.
  • batkınof eyes or cheeks seeming to have fallen deeper back into the face.
Vietnamese bị chìm
  • bị chìmdepressed or submerged
Welsh suddedig, tanddwr
  • suddedigdepressed or submerged
  • tanddwrdepressed or submerged

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with sunken

Duncanshrunkenbedrunken
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

sunken. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sunken

MLA

“sunken.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sunken. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sunken,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sunken.

Source: sunken on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.