sunken

[ suhng-kuhn ]

adjective

1. having sunk or been sunk beneath the surface; submerged.
2. having settled to a lower level, as walls.
3. situated or lying on a lower level:

   a sunken living room.

4. hollow; depressed:

   sunken cheeks.

verb

1. Obsolete. a past participle of sink.

sunken

/ ˈsʌŋkən /

verb

1. a past participle of sink

adjective

1. unhealthily hollow

   sunken cheeks

2. situated at a lower level than the surrounding or usual one
3. situated under water; submerged
4. depressed; low

   sunken spirits

Other Words From

• half-sunken adjective
• un·sunken adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sunken¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, past participle of sinken to sink

Example Sentences

Its unveiling coincides with the release of a new documentary on Shackleton's doomed Endurance expedition and the 2022 hunt for the sunken vessel.

From BBC

The statue depicts a pivotal scene from Get Out, written and directed by Jordan Peele, where Kaluuya’s character is hypnotised by his girlfriend’s mother and finds himself receding into "the Sunken Place", a suppressed metaphysical abyss.

From BBC

While the San José is often described as the holy grail of shipwrecks, it is – according to the United Nations - just one of around three million sunken vessels on our ocean floors.

From BBC

If you know anything about Burton’s movies, you know that they tend to feature characters who embody all the qualities of a sickly Victorian-era child: waifish, sunken doe-eye and gaunt faces with a deathlike pallor.

From Salon

They told of their "unspeakable grief" as the final body from the sunken Bayesian yacht, believed to be that of 18-year-old Hannah, was recovered on Friday.

From BBC