inundate
Definitions
To overwhelm someone with a very large amount of things to deal with
使应接不暇；使不知所措（被大量事物淹没）
To flood an area with water
（用水）淹没，使泛滥
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedin- (onto) + und (wave, from undāre 'to surge') + -ate (verb) = 'to send waves upon.' Literally a river sends its waves over the land and floods it. The same image works for being buried under a flood of emails, calls, or requests — too much arriving all at once.
Root und still carries 9 more wordsUsage Guide
Almost always passive and figurative: 'be inundated with/by' a flood of messages, requests, or work. The literal water sense ('the river inundated the valley') is more formal and less common in everyday speech.
Example Sentences
- 1.
After the news broke, the office was inundated with calls from worried customers.
- 2.
Heavy rain inundated the low-lying fields within hours.
- 3.
We were inundated with applications and couldn't reply to them all.