Dictionary

drown en · VERB

Pronunciation

• droun
• /dɹuːn/ (Northumbria)
• [d̠͡ɹ̠˔ʷaʊn]
• /dɹaʊn/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English drownen, drounen, drunen (“to drown”), of obscure and uncertain origin. The OED suggests an unattested Old English form *drūnian. Harper 2001 points to Old English druncnian, ġedruncnian (> Middle English drunknen, dronknen (“to drown”)), "probably influenced" by Old Norse drukkna (cf. Icelandic drukkna, Danish drukne (“to drown”)). Funk & Wagnall's has 'of uncertain origin'. It has been theorised (see e.g. ODS) that it may represent a direct loan of Old Norse drukkna, but this is described by the OED as being "on phonetic and other grounds [...] highly improbable", unless one considers the possibility of an unattested variant in Old Norse *drunkna.

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To die from suffocation while immersed in water or other fluid.
   • When I was a baby, I nearly drowned in the bathtub.
   • Old woes, not infant sorrows, bear them mild / Continuance tames the one; the other wild, / Like an unpractised swimmer plunging still, / With too much labour drowns for want of skill. 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:
2. (transitive) To kill by suffocating in water or another liquid.
   • The car thief fought with an officer and tried to drown a police dog before being shot while escaping.
   • The pretty-vaulting sea refused to drown me, / Knowing that thou wouldst have me drown’d on shore, / With tears as salt as sea, through thy unkindness: 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
3. (intransitive) To be flooded: to be inundated with or submerged in (literally) water or (figuratively) other things; to be overwhelmed.
   • Penny Guy: Bloody hell, Rog, whadda you want? / Roger O'Neill: To drown in your arms and hide in yer eyes, darlin'. 1990, House of Cards, season 1, episode 2:
   • The first-century Jewish woman Miriam of Nazareth, also held in faith to be Theotokos, the God-bearer, is arguably the most celebrated woman in the Christian tradition. One could almost drown surveying the ways different eras have honored her in painting, sculpture, icons, architecture, music and poetry; venerated her with titles, liturgies, prayers and feasts; and taught about her in spiritual writings, theology and official doctrine. 2000 June 17, Elizabeth A. Johnson, “Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet”, in America, volume 182, number 21:
   • We are drowning in information but starving for wisdom.
4. (figuratively, transitive) To inundate, submerge, overwhelm.
   • Though most men being in sensuall pleasures drownd, / It seemes their Soules but in the Senses are. 1599, John Davies, Nosce Teipsum, London: John Standish, page 19:
   • He drowns his sorrows in buckets of chocolate ice cream.
   • Come, thou monarch of the vine, / Plumpy Bacchus with pink eyne! / In thy fats our cares be drown’d, / With thy grapes our hairs be crown’d: c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:
   • My private Voice is drown’d amid the Senate’s. 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 23:
   • Unluckily that worthy Officer having, in a literal Sense, taken his Fill of Liquor, had been some Time retired to his Bolster, where he was snoaring so loud, that it was not easy to convey a Noise in at his Ears capable of drowning that which issued from his Nostrils. 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter XIV, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VII, pages 71–72:
5. (figuratively, qualifier:usually passive voice, transitive) To obscure, particularly amid an overwhelming volume of other items.
   • The answers intelligence services seek are often drowned in the flood of information they can now gather.

Forms

Deriveds

a drowning man will grasp at a straw · a drowning man will grab at straws · undrown · drownee · too much water drowned the miller · drowned tube · a drowning man will grasp at straws · a drowning man will grab at a straw · surround and drown · drownproof · drown one's sorrows · drownage · drown the miller · drowned · drownable · drowner · drown out · drowning · overdrown · a drowning man will clutch at a straw

Synonyms

noyade (to kill by suffocating in water or another liquid) · drench · inundate (to cover, as with water) · flood (to cover, as with water) · drench

Translations (221)

ml മുക്കിത്താഴ്ത്തുക (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · fa فروشدن (to be suffocated in fluid) · grc καταποντίζομαι (to be suffocated in fluid) · bg заливам (to overwhelm in water) · uk тону́ти (to be suffocated in fluid) · fr se noyer (to be suffocated in fluid) · ro îneca (to be suffocated in fluid) · chr ᎠᎬᎦ (to be suffocated in fluid) · cs potopit (to overwhelm in water) · uk потопля́ти (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ru затопля́ть (to overwhelm in water) · fi hukuttaa (to overpower) · mnc ᠰᡝᠩᠰᡝᡵᡝᠮᠪᡳ (to be suffocated in fluid) · ca negar-se (to be suffocated in fluid) · sm malemo (to be suffocated in fluid) · svs duadua (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · es ahogarse (to be suffocated in fluid) · izh hukkua (to be suffocated in fluid) · bg да́вя (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · vi đuối nước (to overwhelm in water) · nl overspoelen (to overpower) · pl utopić (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · fi hukkua (to be suffocated in fluid) · hy խեղդվել (to be suffocated in fluid) · ru утопи́ть (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · lt skęsti (to be suffocated in fluid) · la mergor (to be suffocated in fluid) · pam lumud (to be suffocated in fluid) · war na-lumos (to be suffocated in fluid) · ky чөгүү (to be suffocated in fluid) · es afogarse (to be suffocated in fluid) · vi dìm (to be suffocated in fluid) · cs utopit se (to be suffocated in fluid) · nrf s'n'yer (to be suffocated in fluid) · no drukne (to be suffocated in fluid) · hy խեղդել (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · hi डूबना (to be suffocated in fluid) · su ngalelepkeun (to be suffocated in fluid) · ang ādrenċan (to overwhelm in water) · cmn 淹死 (to be suffocated in fluid) · ga báigh (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · nl verdrinken (to overwhelm in water) · izh upottaa (to overwhelm in water) · bg уда́вям (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ur غرق ہونا (to be suffocated in fluid) · ms lemas (to be suffocated in fluid) · yue 浸死 (to be suffocated in fluid) · el πνίγω (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · zza fetısnen (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · az boğmaq (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · cy boddi (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · grc καταποντίζω (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · pt afogar (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · sq mbytem (to be suffocated in fluid) · ar أَغْرَقَ (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · hsb zatepić (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ja 水死する (to be suffocated in fluid) · tl lunurin (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · fa فرورفتن (to be suffocated in fluid) · ja 溺れる (to be suffocated in fluid) · uk утопа́ти (to be suffocated in fluid) · ru потопля́ть (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · nl verzuipen (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · dsb zalaś (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ru заглуши́ть (to overpower) · ru затопи́ть (to overwhelm in water) · la mergō (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ca ofegar-se (to be suffocated in fluid) · ang ādrincan (to be suffocated in fluid) · uk втопи́ти (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · af versuip (to be suffocated in fluid) · gl afogar (to be suffocated in fluid) · lmo negà (to be suffocated in fluid) · nl overweldigen (to overpower) · it annegare (to be suffocated in fluid) · uk утопи́ти (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · gd bàth (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · lv noslīkt (to be suffocated in fluid) · pl tonąć (to be suffocated in fluid) · af verdrink (to be suffocated in fluid) · ru тону́ть (to be suffocated in fluid) · sv dränka (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · tl malunod (to be suffocated in fluid) · sv drunkna (to be suffocated in fluid) · tr boğulmak (to be suffocated in fluid) · yag tāpöna (to be suffocated in fluid) · th จมน้ำตาย (to be suffocated in fluid) · de überwältigen (to overpower) · es afogar (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · zza henıqyen (to be suffocated in fluid) · acw غِرِق (to be suffocated in fluid) · de ertränken (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · he הטביע (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · nl overspoelen (to overwhelm in water) · lv slīkt (to be suffocated in fluid) · he טָבַע (to be suffocated in fluid) · lmo negar (annegar) (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · he טבע (to overwhelm in water) · ja 溺死する (to be suffocated in fluid) · uk топи́ти (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · nrf n'yer (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · is drukkna (to be suffocated in fluid) · mi tukupunga (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · mzs afugâ (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ja 圧倒する (to overpower) · dsb zalaś se (to be suffocated in fluid) · acw غَرَّق (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · cs topit (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · az boğulmaq (to be suffocated in fluid) · ro îneca (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · mt għereq (to be suffocated in fluid) · id tenggelam (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ko 물에 뼈져 죽다 (to be suffocated in fluid) · zza fetısyen (to be suffocated in fluid) · pox ai̯tüpi să (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · nl verzuipen (to be suffocated in fluid) · izh upota (to be suffocated in fluid) · lmo negar (annegar) (to be suffocated in fluid) · ca submergir (to overwhelm in water) · gd bàth (to overpower) · ml മുങ്ങിത്താഴുക (to be suffocated in fluid) · fi peittää (to overpower) · mzs afugâ (to be suffocated in fluid) · cmn 溺死 (to be suffocated in fluid) · la summergor (to be suffocated in fluid) · zdj hunwa (to be suffocated in fluid) · fi hukuttaa (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · da drukne (to be suffocated in fluid) · ca negar (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ru потопи́ть (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · tr boğmak (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · fr noyer (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · pa ਡੁੱਬ (to be suffocated in fluid) · mr बुडणे (to be suffocated in fluid) · hu fullad (to be suffocated in fluid) · ru утопа́ть (to be suffocated in fluid) · hsb so zatepić (to be suffocated in fluid) · ur ڈوبنا (to be suffocated in fluid) · ast afogar (to be suffocated in fluid) · fi upottaa (to overwhelm in water) · te మునుగు (to be suffocated in fluid) · it affogare (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · pdt veseepen (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · nl verdrinken (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · nl verdrinken (to be suffocated in fluid) · ar غَرِقَ (to be suffocated in fluid) · hi डुबाना (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · mk удави (to be suffocated in fluid) · grc καταποντόω (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ne डुबा (to be suffocated in fluid) · sk utopit (to be suffocated in fluid) · ru заглуша́ть (to overpower) · ha nutsar (to be suffocated in fluid) · it affogare (to overwhelm in water) · de ertrinken (to be suffocated in fluid) · uk потопа́ти (to be suffocated in fluid) · vi chết đuối (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ml മുക്കിക്കൊല്ലുക (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ca ofegar (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · sv dränka (to overpower) · km លង់ទឹក (to be suffocated in fluid) · it affogare (to be suffocated in fluid) · hu vízbe fojt (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · cs přehlušit (to overpower) · mkj pwuhrla (to be suffocated in fluid) · vi nhấn chìm (to overpower) · ur ڈوبانا (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · mnc ᠰᡝᠩᠰᡝᡵᡝᠪᡠᠮᠪᡳ (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · fi hukuttaa (to overwhelm in water) · ltg sleikt (to be suffocated in fluid) · ml മുങ്ങിച്ചാവുക (to be suffocated in fluid) · hy ջրահեղձ լինել (to be suffocated in fluid) · yi דערטרינקען זיך (to be suffocated in fluid) · be тану́ць (to be suffocated in fluid) · zza fetısyayen (to overwhelm in water) · it coprire (to overpower) · my ရေနစ် (to be suffocated in fluid) · id menenggelamkan (to be suffocated in fluid) · cy boddi (to be suffocated in fluid) · fi hukuttautua (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · bg уда́вям се (to be suffocated in fluid) · tl malunod (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · la summergō (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · gd bàth (to be suffocated in fluid) · bg заглушавам (to overpower) · ota بوغمق (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ru топи́ть (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · kn ಹಾಕುತ್ತದೆ (to be suffocated in fluid) · fy ferdrinke (to be suffocated in fluid) · pl utonąć (to be suffocated in fluid) · da drukne (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · bn মজান (to be suffocated in fluid) · sh utopiti (to be suffocated in fluid) · ja 溺らす (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · cs utopit (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · yi דערטרינקען (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · nl verzuipen (to overwhelm in water) · cmn 把...淹死 (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · it sommergere (to overwhelm in water) · pox ai̯tüpi să (to be suffocated in fluid) · be тапі́ць (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · it annegare (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · bg уда́вя се (to be suffocated in fluid) · bg да́вя се (to be suffocated in fluid) · sv dränka (to overwhelm in water) · es ahogar (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ur غرق کرنا (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · sl utopiti (to be suffocated in fluid) · eo dronigi (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · akl eumos (to be suffocated in fluid) · el πνίγομαι (to be suffocated in fluid) · eo droni (to be suffocated in fluid) · bg потапям (to overwhelm in water) · bg уда́вя (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · ru утону́ть (to be suffocated in fluid) · cmn 溺水 (to be suffocated in fluid) · ang ādrenċan (to deprive of life by immersion in liquid) · pt afogar-se (to be suffocated in fluid) · grc καταποντόομαι (to be suffocated in fluid) · ru потону́ть (to be suffocated in fluid) · ga báigh (to be suffocated in fluid)