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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Inundate: Meaning, Examples, and Common Usage (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：overwhelm with (inundate)

inundate 🔊

/ˈɪnʌndeɪt/

vt.

to give or send someone so many things that they cannot deal with them all.

overwhelm with 🔊

➕

/ˌoʊvərˈwelm wɪð/

vt.

To give someone too many things to deal with, overwhelming them beyond their capacity.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'inundare' (in- 'into' + unda 'wave'), meaning 'to overflow'.

💡 Mnemonic

Think 'in' + 'unda' (wave) – a wave of tasks overwhelms you.

📖 Example

After the product launch, our customer service team was inundated with emails and calls. 🔊 After the product launch, the customer service team received such a huge number of emails and calls that they could not manage them all.

🔗 Collocations

inundate with work – overwhelm someone with too many tasks

inundate with requests – send so many requests that they cannot be handled

inundate with information – provide too much information to process

🔄 Synonyms

overwhelm (v.) – to overpower or give too much to someone

deluge (v.) – to flood or overwhelm with a large amount of something

swamp (v.) – to overwhelm with a heavy burden or quantity

🚫 Antonyms

relieve (v.) – to free from a burden or reduce the load

unburden (v.) – to remove a heavy load or stress from someone

ease (v.) – to make a situation less severe or less overwhelming

🌱 Derivatives

inundation (n.) – the state of being overwhelmed or flooded

inundated (adj.) – overwhelmed with too many things

inundating (adj.) – tending to overwhelm or flood

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from Latin 'inundare' (in- 'into' + unda 'wave'), originally used for literal flooding. In modern English, it is frequently used metaphorically in business contexts, e.g., 'inundated with inquiries'.

Meaning 2：submerge (inundate)

inundate 🔊

/ˈɪnʌndeɪt/

vt.

to cover an area of land with a large amount of water.

submerge 🔊

➕

/səbˈmɜːrdʒ/

vt.

To cover an area of land with a large amount of water, typically causing a flood.

📁 Category：Natural Geography 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The heavy rains caused the river to overflow and inundate the nearby farmland. 🔊 The persistent heavy rain made the river swell beyond its banks and flood the adjacent farmland completely.

🔗 Collocations

inundate the valley – flood the entire valley with water

inundate the fields – cover the farmland with water

inundate the city – cause water to spread over the urban area

🔄 Synonyms

flood (v.) – to cover land with water

submerge (v.) – to put or go completely under water

engulf (v.) – to completely cover and swallow up, especially by water

🚫 Antonyms

drain (v.) – to remove water from an area

dry (v.) – to make land free from moisture or water

expose (v.) – to uncover land that was previously submerged

🌱 Derivatives

inundation (n.) – a flood or overflowing of water

inundated (adj.) – flooded or under water

inundating (adj.) – causing a flood or covering with water