as in flooding
to cover with a flood
high waves from the hurricane engulfed large areas of the coastal community
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of engulfing
Exactly a year ago, Pratt and Montag documented their family's evacuation from their Palisades home on social media, sharing security camera footage that showed the fire approaching and engulfing their desk.
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Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
Witnesses described scenes of panic as flames spread rapidly through the basement level before engulfing the upper floor.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
In his post, Medvedev referred to the corruption scandal engulfing Federica Mogherini, who has been arrested in a fraud probe relating to contracts for training aspiring European diplomats.
—Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The video showed smoke engulfing the area, with Palestinian women wailing as men carry extinguishers and water buckets in a scramble to douse the fires.
—Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 13 Nov. 2025
Videos taken at the scene show Spoelstra standing near the fire, visibly distressed, as firefighters worked to contain the inferno engulfing the multimillion-dollar property.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Images circulating on social media show a massive fire engulfing the Waldo's store.
—NPR, 2 Nov. 2025
Israel’s self-defense policies risk engulfing the region in turmoil and harming the country’s stability.
—Yossi Shelley, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025
An opera which seriously addressed that theme would be equal to the crisis that is engulfing the American experiment.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for engulfing
Verb
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Beijing will keep trying to export its way out, flooding global markets—an approach that most trading partners may absorb this year but won’t tolerate forever.—
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An old rusted pipe had burst in an area where many people lived in makeshift homes; water gushed out, flooding their homes.—
Verb
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Polka dots bring visual interest without overwhelming a look, pairing easily with solid staples.—
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Kovac has been cautious with the midfielder, gradually giving him minutes without overwhelming him.—
Verb
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After drowning Noah, 7, John, 5, Paul, 3, Luke, 2, and 6-month-old Mary, Andrea called the police to confess.—
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New York — The gas pump has emerged as a rare source of relief for Americans drowning in higher prices — and that positive trend is expected to continue in 2026, regardless of the uncertainty in Venezuela.—
Verb
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The most popular cleaning methods for a menstrual cup include cleaning it with natural products like baking soda or castile soap, submerging it in a sterilizing solution like the type used for baby bottles or boiling it for five to 10 minutes.—
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Lopatin isn’t recreating Blade Runner with his soundtracks as much as Risky Business, pulling us into the subconscious of the Safdies’ manic characters and submerging us in their doomed self-sabotage.—
Cite this Entry
“Engulfing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/engulfing. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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