Deluge Meaning
/ˈdɛl.juː(d)ʒ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA great flood or rain.
nounAn overwhelming amount of something; anything that overwhelms or causes great destruction.
Sentence Examples
After us, the Deluge.
The flood of 1342 was the biggest deluge in the history of central Europe.
The Roman world was overwhelmed by a deluge of Barbarians.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the sudden ____, the entire valley was underwater.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After us, the ____.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃-der. Proto-Italic *lawō Latin lavō Latin dīluō Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ium Latin dīluvium Old French delugebor. Middle English deluge English deluge From Middle English deluge, from Old French deluge, alteration of earlier deluvie, from Latin dīluvium, from dīluō (“wash away”). Doublet of diluvium.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A fiery deluge fed / With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"The little bird sits at his door in the sun, / Atilt like a blossom among the leaves, / And lets his illumined being o'errun / With the deluge of summer it receives."
— 1848, James Russell Lowell, The Vision of Sir Launfal:
"On June 8, 2005, a decomposition reaction occurred in the manifold system on a mobile acetylene trailer at Western's Bellville plant that caused the fusible plugs of five cylinders to melt, releasing the products of decomposition. The materials released did not ignite before the deluge system was manually activated, controlling the incident. The incident started when a mobile acetylene trailer, with the cylinder valves open and the manifold fully pressurized, was moved into another bay and the block valve was opened, which initiated an acetylene decomposition reaction."
— 2009 January 13, National Transportation Safety Board, “Earlier Western Accidents”, in Special Investigation Report: Mobile Acetylene Trailer Accidents: Fire During Unloading in Dallas, Texas, July 25, 2007; Fire During Unloading in The Woodlands, Texas, August 7, 2007; and Overturn and Fire in East New Orleans, Louisiana, October 20, 2007, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2022, page 18:
"South Yorkshire 2019: The track at Conisbrough is deluged by floodwater. Lines were shut and services were disrupted across Yorkshire and the East Midlands."
— 2020 July 29, Andrew Roden, “ORR demands more action on weather resistance”, in Rail, page 21, photo caption:
"In Women on the Verge all of the characters are deluged by and constantly dealing with the effects and messages of pop culture."
— 1988 December 25, Michael Bronski, “Passion Statement”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 24, page 11:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the sudden ____, the entire valley was underwater.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After us, the ____.