Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

engulf

/ɪŋˈɡʌlf/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.66 in modern English

Syllables: en-gulf
IPA: /ɪŋˈɡʌlf/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Transitive verb

verb

To surround; to cover; to submerge.

Transitive verb

verb

To cast into a gulf.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Depression engulfed her after her daughter's death."
"Shaken by the biggest challenge to their authority in years, Brazil’s leaders made conciliatory gestures on Tuesday to try to defuse the protests engulfing the nation’s cities."
"The blank spaces of Mallarmé, the silence of Maesterlinck, the inaniloquous repetitive babblings of Gertrude Stein are the abyss which threatens to engulf creative effort if it continues in this direction."
"Only Noah and his family survived when the Flood engulfed the world."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Old French en-bor. Middle English en- English en- English gulf English engulf From en- + gulf.

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

engulfs (present, singular) engulfing (participle, present) engulfed (participle, past) engulfed (past)

Derived Forms

engulfable engulfer engulfment unengulfed

Synonyms

swallow steep immerse plunge engross absorb soak up

Rhymes With

gulf ulf nulph

Questions

How do you pronounce engulf?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪŋˈɡʌlf/.
What does engulf mean?: To overwhelm.
Where does engulf come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Old French en-bor. Middle English en- English en- English gulf English engulf From en- + gulf.

How to pronounce engulf

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “engulf”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪŋˈɡʌlf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “engulf”.
Repeat and practice — Say “engulf” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.