Completely covered or hidden under water, or overwhelmed by something that feels all-consuming.
From Latin 'submergere,' combining 'sub-' (under) and 'mergere' (to plunge or dip). The word entered English in the 1500s and quickly gained both literal and figurative meanings.
In cities like Venice, entire neighborhoods are literally submerged or sinking, but metaphorically we say people are 'submerged in debt' or 'submerged in grief.' The beautiful thing about this word is how it works both ways—the feeling of drowning in problems mirrors the physics of actual drowning.
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