ENGLISH
REFERENCE

sunk

adj.
B1 Intermediate US //ˈsəŋk// UK //sˈʌŋk// sunk Dialect

adj. the past form of 'sink'. You use it when something has gone under water or dropped to a lower level.

adj. the past participle of 'sink'. Often used in the passive voice or as a participial adjective to describe objects that have descended below the surface of a liquid.


SIMPLE

The heavy stone has sunk to the bottom of the lake.

CONTEXTUAL

By the time the rescue team arrived, the small fishing boat had already sunk beneath the waves.

COMPLEX

The realization that the project was doomed finally sunk in after the third round of funding was officially denied by the board.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Usage

Functions as the past participle of the irregular verb 'sink'.

Pitfall

The boat sanked yesterday.The boat sank yesterday.Learners often confuse the past simple 'sank' with the past participle 'sunk', or try to apply regular '-ed' endings to this irregular verb.

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