English Reference

Word

inundated

Phoneticsin·un·dat·ed

US/ˈɪnənˌdeɪtɪd/

UK/ˈɪnəndˌeɪtɪd/

Definition

adj. feeling overwhelmed because you have too much of something to deal with at once. It is often used when you receive a huge number of emails, tasks, or requests.

adj. overwhelmed by an excessive amount of something; flooded or saturated. Often used in a figurative sense regarding information, requests, or tasks.

Examples

“The office was inundated with phone calls after the announcement.”

“Customer support was inundated with complaints following the unexpected server outage on Friday morning.”

“The small coastal village was inundated by a surge of tourists during the summer festival, stretching local resources to their absolute breaking point.”

Examples

simple

“The office was inundated with phone calls after the announcement.”

contextual

“Customer support was inundated with complaints following the unexpected server outage on Friday morning.”

complex

“The small coastal village was inundated by a surge of tourists during the summer festival, stretching local resources to their absolute breaking point.”

Usage

Often follows a linking verb and takes the preposition 'with' or 'by'.

Pitfall

I am inundated of work

I am inundated with work

Inundated typically collocates with 'with' when referring to tasks or objects, or 'by' when referring to the source of the volume.

Real-World Examples

Common in science writing

“Flooding caused by heavy rainfall there over the last two weeks has breached river embankments and inundated villages.”
UN News · 13 Aug 2026
“My socials are inundated with videos of enthusiastic clients filming themselves in scan machines, getting their bloods taken and testing their grip strength.”
BBC News · 8 Aug 2026

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/inundated

English Reference