sunken

adjective

ˈsəŋ-kən How to pronounce sunken (audio)
Definition of sunkennext
1
as in concave
curved inward our convalescing guest's sunken cheeks soon filled out on a diet of my mother's cooking

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in underwater
living, lying, or occurring below the surface of the water diving for sunken treasure

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sunken Originally planned with welcoming guests and family as a high priority, the finished, 1,763-square-foot lower level adds a five-stool wet bar, a games area, a sunken home theater and extra storage opportunities. — Richard Lane, Des Moines Register, 7 Sep. 2026 The red brick building features a sunken outdoor patio off Camino Del Mar with a row of bright yellow umbrellas matching the yellow in the vintage-style pole sign on the street. — Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026 The main lounge has a sunken living room seating area, dining tables, and a bar serving coffee and cocktails. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026 As the orbital bone around your eyes loses volume during perimenopause, your eyes will look more sunken. — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sunken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sunken
  1. concave
  2. underwater
  3. hollow
  4. aquatic
  5. depressed
  6. submarine
  7. submerged
Adjective
  • The Rick Owens show included sparkling avant-garde boots with a fierce platform wedge, as well as sandals with concave wedge heels.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The convex-concave curves of the open and closed parentheses cup something said by the way, whisperings, secrets mouthed into the reader’s ear, mumbled under the author’s breath.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of concave
Adjective
  • The missiles were launched on October 14, and the test was reportedly designed to assess the operational readiness of underwater combat systems and improve the navy’s ability to carry out strategic missions, according to North Korea.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The water level of the 90-year-old reservoir has dropped, exposing areas that were previously underwater.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of underwater
Adjective
  • Researchers constructed a hollow fiber membrane lined on the outside with palladium nanoparticles rather than attacking PFAS in open water.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The squash should sound hollow when tapped, similar to a watermelon.
    — Candy Hom, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of hollow
Adjective
  • Too aquatic for roads, yet too terrestrial for boats, boglands remain some of the most remote and difficult landscapes to access.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The park has a wide variety of birds, Harding said, as well as coyotes, foxes and aquatic animals such as frogs and turtles.
    — Evy Lewis, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of aquatic
Adjective
  • Celebrated as masterpieces today, at the time they were regarded as the unpolished works of a depressed, crazy man and commercially worthless.
    — Joan Martelli, Time, 17 Oct. 2026
  • In the event of a severe winter or import bottlenecks, depressed storage levels not only narrow Europe's capacity to absorb supply shocks but also risk driving natural gas prices higher.
    — , CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of depressed
Adjective
  • The third pillar expands on this approach by increasing the capacity of the wider submarine industrial base.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2026
  • But a new antenna technology, borrowed from the physics of medical implants, is rethinking how submarine machines talk to each other – and to us.
    — Omar Kardoudi June 06, New Atlas, 6 June 2026
Definition of submarine
Adjective
  • Advanced blue-green optical communications penetrate the water column to communicate with submerged submarines without requiring them to deploy compromise-prone antennas.
    — Rohit Jha, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Rescue teams recovered four bodies from inside the submerged vessel on Friday, while seven more were found along nearby shorelines, Bramantyo said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of submerged

Browse Nearby Words

sunk
sunken
sunk fence
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Cite this Entry

“Sunken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sunken. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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