Adjacent Words

sunken definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having a sunken area; "hunger gave their faces a sunken look" [syn: deep-set, sunken, recessed]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English sonkyn, past participle of sinken to sink Date: 14th century 1. submerged; especially lying at the bottom of a body of water 2. a. hollow, recessed <sunken cheeks> b. lying in a depression <a sunken garden> c. settled below the normal level d. constructed below the normal floor level <a sunken living room>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 that has been sunk. 2 beneath the surface; submerged. 3 (of the eyes, cheeks, etc.) hollow, depressed. Phrases and idioms: sunken garden a garden placed below the general level of its surroundings. Etymology: past part. of SINK

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sink Sink, v. i. [imp. Sunk, or (Sank); p. p. Sunk (obs. Sunken, -- now used as adj.); p. pr. & vb. n. Sinking.] [OE. sinken, AS. sincan; akin to D. zinken, OS. sincan, G. sinken, Icel. s["o]kkva, Dan. synke, Sw. sjunka, Goth. siggan, and probably to E. silt. Cf. Silt.] 1. To fall by, or as by, the force of gravity; to descend lower and lower; to decline gradually; to subside; as, a stone sinks in water; waves rise and sink; the sun sinks in the west. I sink in deep mire. --Ps. lxix. 2. 2. To enter deeply; to fall or retire beneath or below the surface; to penetrate. The stone sunk into his forehead. --1 San. xvii. 49. 3. Hence, to enter so as to make an abiding impression; to enter completely. Let these sayings sink down into your ears. --Luke ix. 44. 4. To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fall slowly, as so the ground, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease. I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. --Shak. He sunk down in his chariot. --2 Kings ix. 24. Let not the fire sink or slacken. --Mortimer. 5. To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height. The Alps and Pyreneans sink before him. --Addison. Syn: To fall; subside; drop; droop; lower; decline; decay; decrease; lessen.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sunken Sunk"en, a. Lying on the bottom of a river or other water; sunk.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Sunken ships have sunk to the bottom of a sea, ocean, or lake. The sunken sailing-boat was a glimmer of white on the bottom... Try diving for sunken treasure. ADJ: ADJ n 2. Sunken gardens, roads, or other features are below the level of their surrounding area. The room was dominated by a sunken bath. ADJ: ADJ n 3. Sunken eyes, cheeks, or other parts of the body curve inwards and make you look thin and unwell. Her eyes were sunken and black-ringed. ADJ

Moby Thesaurus

boat-shaped, boatlike, bowl-shaped, bowllike, buried, cavelike, cavernous, concave, concaved, craterlike, cup-shaped, cupped, cymbiform, debased, depressed, dish-shaped, dished, dishing, dishlike, downcast, downthrown, drawn, drowned, engulfed, fallen, flooded, funnel-breasted, funnel-chested, funnel-shaped, haggard, hollow, hollowed, immersed, incurved, incurving, incurvous, infundibular, infundibuliform, inundated, low, lowered, navicular, naviform, prostrate, reduced, retiring, retreating, saucer-shaped, scaphoid, scyphate, settled, spoonlike, subaqueous, submarine, submerged, submersed, sunk, underground, undersea, underwater