sunken
sunken Lexical Profile
sunken Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having fallen to the bottom of a body of water; submerged beneath the surface.
"Marine archaeologists used sonar equipment to locate the sunken merchant vessel off the coast."
Hollow and curving inward, especially of the eyes or cheeks due to illness, exhaustion, or advanced age.
"After weeks of recovering from the fever, he looked frail and had dark, sunken eyes."
Situated or constructed at a lower level than the surrounding ground, floor, or surface.
"The mid-century house features a cozy sunken living room accessed by three wide steps."
• verb
To go down below the surface of something, especially of a liquid, or to drop to a lower level (past participle of sink).
"By the time the repair crew arrived, the heavy concrete foundation had already sunken several inches into the soft clay."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'sunk' is the standard modern past participle of the verb 'sink' (e.g., 'the ship has sunk'), 'sunken' is primarily used as an attributive adjective before a noun (e.g., 'a sunken ship', 'sunken eyes').
• Rhymes for sunken
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'suncen', the original strong past participle of 'sincan' (to sink), derived from Proto-Germanic '*sinkwana'.