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 Word Forms

• 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

Two more M88A2 Hercules, plus bulldozers were needed to drag the sunken vehicle out of the swamp on Monday, in a recovery mission that saw teams working "day and night", the statement said.

From BBC

US Navy divers were brought in to hook cables onto the sunken vehicle, and had to manoeuvre "through thick layers of mud, clay, and sediment with zero visibility", the statement said.

From BBC

“I just don't think at this age, I'm meant to live an uncomfortable life,” Victoria says in a drawl pulled from the depths of North Carolina’s sunken place.

From Salon

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

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