Spanish Conversation · Level 175
15 words
Spanish word
hundir
Pronunciation
IPA/unˈdiɾ/
Meaning
- verbsink
Example
La ola grande puede hundir el bote.
The large wave can sink the boat.
More examples
El fraude financiero hundió a muchas familias en la miseria.
The financial fraud plunged many families into poverty.
Core concept
An external force forcing a boat down to the seabed.
Common phrases
hundir en la miseria
plunge someone into poverty
hundir la autoestima
crush someone's self-esteem
Similar words
hundirse: Sink down into the water and reach the bottom, becoming submerged and unseen.
sumergir: Put something into a liquid so it is fully covered and stays below the surface.
ahogar: Cause a person or animal to drown by filling the airway with water and stopping breathing.
sumirse: Sink deeply into an emotional or mental state, such as sadness or despair.
Definition in Spanish
Provocar que un objeto, especialmente un barco, ceda ante una fuerza y vaya al fondo; figuradamente, causar la ruina o la derrota de una persona o entidad.
Word origin
Hundir derives from a Romance verb built on Latin fundus 'bottom', with an early Spanish sound change of initial f to h producing the modern verb meaning to force something to the bottom.
Usage tips
- Spanish uses hundir transitively to indicate causing something to sink and the reflexive hundirse when the subject sinks by itself, as in La tormenta hundió el barco versus El barco se hundió.
Other meanings
- submergeverb
- crushverb
Opposites
- levantarraiseverb
Related words
- hundimientosinkingnoun
- hundidodevastatedadjective