deluge
Definitions
A severe flood or very heavy fall of rain
洪水；暴雨
An overwhelming amount of something arriving at once
（大量事物）涌来；泛滥
To flood, or to overwhelm with a large amount of something
淹没；使应接不暇
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedde- (down) + luge (from luere, 'to wash') = a great washing-down: a flood. The same word covers literal floods and any overwhelming downpour of things — a deluge of emails or complaints.
Root lav still carries 19 more wordsWhy It Means This
Deluge keeps the literal 'flood' sense (the biblical Deluge that washed the earth) but is most alive today as a metaphor. Because a flood overwhelms everything in its path, a deluge of messages, questions, or applications means more than you can handle pouring in at once.
Common Collocations
- 1.a deluge of大量的……
- 2.deluged with emails被邮件淹没
- 3.deluged with requests被请求淹没
- 4.sudden deluge突如其来的暴雨/涌入
Example Sentences
- 1.
A sudden deluge flooded the streets within minutes.
- 2.
The radio station was deluged with calls after the contest.
- 3.
We received a deluge of complaints about the new policy.