Literary notes about Inundate (AI summary)
In literature, inundate is deployed to evoke a sense of overwhelming force that can be both physical and metaphorical. It often describes literal flooding, as when rivers or heavy rains overtake landscapes and towns, submerging fields or entire regions [1], [2], [3], [4]. At the same time, the word is employed to convey an excess that transcends the natural world, such as deluges of blood or emotion that wash over characters and societies [5], [6], [7], [8]. This dual usage enriches the imagery, allowing authors to depict not only the terror of nature’s might but also the psychological or societal impact of being overtaken by forces beyond control [9], [10].
- Varinas is intersected by numerous large and navigable rivers, which occasionally inundate and fertilize its plains.
— from Spanish America, Vol. 2 (of 2) by Bonnycastle, Richard Henry, Sir - The rivers have been swelled to such an extent as to inundate all the low lands, causing immense damage, destroying stock and agricultural products.
— from History of the State of California From the Period of the Conquest by Spain to Her Occupation by the United States of America by John Frost - Along the streets close to the river banks the height of water was 12 feet, sufficient to inundate the first floors of all the buildings (see Pl.
— from The Passaic Flood of 1903 by Marshall Ora Leighton - As a natural consequence, the water on the western side had risen, and if not held back by some natural barrier, would inundate the country.
— from The Fur Country: Or, Seventy Degrees North Latitude by Jules Verne - “I will free my kingdom from the curse that has so long afflicted it, even though I inundate the land with blood.
— from Cardinal Pole; Or, The Days of Philip and Mary: An Historical Romance by William Harrison Ainsworth - The ever spreading torrent of corruption and infidelity, looked, as though in its fully gathered strength, it might one day inundate the world.
— from The Life of the Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation by Anonymous - It said: I arise, I inundate the earth, I will drown cities and people!
— from History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 8 (of 12) by G. (Gaston) Maspero - The memory seemed to inundate and overwhelm my brain.
— from Recalled to Life by Grant Allen - They will be at Ostend in four hours; they will inundate the Continent next week; they will carry into far lands the famous image of the British Snob.
— from The Book of Snobs by William Makepeace Thackeray - The tide of immigration which was by the end of the century to inundate the nation and transform its character was just beginning to flow.
— from Union and Democracy by Allen Johnson
