ˈdrau̇n verb
( drowned -nd ; or nonstandard drownd·ed -ndə̇d ; drowned or nonstandard drownded ; drown·ing -niŋ ; or nonstandard drownd·ing -ndiŋ ; drowns -nz ; or nonstandard drownds -n(d)z)
Etymology: Middle English drunen, drounen, probably alteration of drunknen, from Old English druncnian; akin to Old Norse drukna to drown; inchoatives from the root of English drink — more at drink
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to suffocate in water or some other liquid
fell in the water and drowned
b. : to suffocate because of excess of body fluid that interferes with the passage of oxygen from the lung to the tissues (as in pulmonary edema)
2. of things : to sink in water or some other liquid and become submerged
the boat drowned but we were saved
: become flooded : lie under water impounded by a dam
many towns drown — A.W.Baum
3.
a. : to become overpowered by or come completely under the influence of something (as an emotion or idea)
drowning in bliss — Ellen Glasgow
drowning in self-condemnation — Marcia Davenport
b. : to swoon or have the senses reel (as under the influence of strong emotion)
stare on beauty till his senses drown — Edna S. V. Millay
a passionate, knowing, drowning experience — Irwin Shaw
c. : to experience extreme difficulty or perplexity
drowned in extracurricular paperwork
drowning in the intricacies of calculus
transitive verb
1.
a. : to suffocate by submersion in water or some other liquid
drowned three kittens
drowned himself in the river
b. : to submerge especially by a rise of the water level or by a sinking of the land
the river overflowed, drowning whole villages
a movement of the sea drowned the lower ends of the valleys
c. : to sink (an object) in water or some other liquid : send to the bottom
deeper than ever did plummet sound I'll drown my book — Shakespeare
: immerse in water
drown the nitrated sheets in water at 40° C
d. : to wet thoroughly : cover with moisture : soak , drench
a heavy rain, soaking cartridges and drowning powder horns
drowned the fish in a rich sauce
2. : to engage (oneself) deeply or strenuously
drowned himself in work
— used with in
3. : to cause (a sound) not to be heard by making a loud noise — often used with out
a clamor of denials drowned out the landlord — T.B.Costain
4.
a. : to drive out (as a sensation or an idea) : extinguish
the smell of coffee drowned the spruce smell and the sea smell — Willa Cather
their system tends to drown initiative — Andrew Buchanan
: repress
try to drown their fundamental instincts — Paul Blanshard
: extinguish by merging in something else
drowned the main issue in a general debate
b. : to tower over : overwhelm : reduce to insignificance
a personality that drowned all who stood beside him
: stun , dazzle
vistas that drown the imagination
c. : to drive from the memory or consciousness — often used in the phrase drown one's sorrows
tried to drown his sorrows in liquor
•
- drown the shamrock