All words

engulf

Meaning

To cover or envelop something completely, often with something large or overwhelming.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

The wildfire spread fast, and soon the flames began to engulf the small town. People ran, but the smoke was so thick they could barely see. The heat was terrible, and the fire seemed to swallow everything in its path.

The thick, acrid smoke began to engulf the makeshift shelter. He couldn't see his hand in front of his face, the heat pressing in from all sides, making it hard to breathe. Panic rose, a crushing wave he fought to push down.

The thick fog rolled in, a silent, grey blanket that started to engulf the tiny fishing boat. Soon, the vast, dark ocean vanished, replaced by an eerie, featureless world. All they could see was the immediate deck.

A rogue wave, big as a house, decided to engulf the tiny rubber ducky. The ducky, normally so brave, was completely covered, bobbing like a lost teacup. It disappeared under the water, a tiny yellow speck lost in a watery hug.

A rogue marshmallow, the size of a small car, began to roll down the street. People shrieked as the giant fluff cloud threatened to engulf the entire town, turning everything into a sticky, sugary landscape. It was a sweet, but terrifying, surprise.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

The thick smoke from the fire began to engulf the small house, its dark tendrils creeping through every crack and window. Panic rose as the heat intensified, a suffocating blanket that threatened to swallow them whole.

The smoke from the spontaneous combustion of the bio-engineered algae bloom began to engulf the entire experimental biodome. Panic flared as the thick, green haze blocked out the sun, making it impossible to see anything beyond our immediate surroundings, a suffocating, irreversible tide of chaos.

The sudden surge of water from the burst pipe threatened to engulf their basement workshop. He watched in disbelief as the muddy tide rose rapidly, submerging the carefully arranged shelves of antique clock mechanisms. Panic set in as the dark water continued to spread, covering everything.

My roommate's laundry pile was so monumental, it threatened to engulf my entire room. I swear, I saw a sock sneak out and attempt to swallow the remote. Soon, the whole apartment will be a fuzzy, fabric mountain, and I'll need a sherpa just to get to the fridge.

The rogue gargoyle, having misplaced its spectacles, found itself in a pickle. A cloud of particularly fluffy, cheese-scented lint, dislodged by a clumsy pigeon, began to engulf the stone creature. It tried to flap its wings, but the fuzzy mass was too much, a soft, yellow blanket that muffled its squawks and coated its beak in cheesy delight.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

The wildfire raged, its flames a terrifying wave. Soon, thick, acrid smoke began to engulf the small town, making it impossible to see the sun or breathe the air. People panicked, their homes about to be swallowed by the overwhelming inferno.

The avalanche roared down, a monstrous wave of snow and ice. It didn't just cover the climbers; it began to engulf them, stealing their breath and the light, a terrifying, absolute press of winter's fury.

The tide, impossibly swift, began to engulf the fragile lifeboat. Panic flared as the cold water climbed, threatening to pull us under, its vastness overwhelming any hope of escape. Soon, nothing but the churning gray remained.

The rogue wave, a colossal wall of briny fury, began to engulf the hapless tourist boat. Tourists, mid-sandwich and mid-complaint, found their jaunty hats and even jauntier spirits submerged as the sea's immense power chose them for a thorough, damp baptism.

A rogue wave of artisanal sourdough starter, brimming with ambitious yeast, threatened to engulf the entire artisanal cheese festival. Its yeasty tendrils, sticky and potent, stretched across tables laden with brie and gouda, promising a fermented future where even the most stoic cheddar would surrender.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

The sheer magnitude of the inferno was terrifying. Flames, a ravenous entity, began to engulf the entire structure, their heat radiating outwards with palpable ferocity. Panic was a wave, threatening to engulf even the most steadfast observer as smoke choked the sky.

The burgeoning dread began to engulf him as the data stream's velocity outpaced his capacity to process, each cascading byte a palpable weight pressing down, an inescapable deluge of information threatening to obliterate his fragile composure.

The arid wind picked up, a relentless squall promising oblivion for the exposed encampment. Dust devils began to writhe, growing into towering columns that threatened to engulf their meager shelters. Panic clawed at their throats as the gritty tempest advanced, a palpable force designed to obliterate all trace of their presence.

A behemoth bowl of spaghetti, teetering precariously, threatened to engulf Bartholomew's pristine tuxedo. He’d opted for the "mountainous marinara" option, a choice he was rapidly regretting as crimson tendrils began to engulf him, a veritable deluge of bolognese about to obliterate his sartorial splendor.

The sentient gelatinous blobs, a veritable effluvium of interstellar ichor, began to engulf the bewildered intergalactic tax auditor. His pleas for leniency were swallowed by the viscous, pulsating mass as it continued its inexorable, glistening assimilation, a cosmic amoeba with an insatiable appetite for fiscal probity.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

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