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Webster 1913 Edition


Engulf

En-gulf′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Engulfed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Engulfing
.]
[Pref.
en-
+
gulf
: cf. OF.
engolfer
. Cf.
Ingulf
.]
To absorb or swallow up as in a gulf.
Syn. – See
Absorb
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Engulf

ENGULF'

,
Verb.
T.
To throw or to absorb in a gulf.

Definition 2024


engulf

engulf

English

Verb

engulf (third-person singular simple present engulfs, present participle engulfing, simple past and past participle engulfed)

  1. (transitive) To overwhelm.
    Desperation engulfed her after her daughter's death.
    • 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, "Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders," New York Times (retrieved 21 June 2013):
      Shaken by the biggest challenge to their authority in years, Brazil’s leaders made conciliatory gestures on Tuesday to try to defuse the protests engulfing the nation’s cities.
  2. (transitive) To surround; to cover.
    Only Noah and his family survived when the Flood engulfed earth.

Translations