engulf
/ɪŋˈɡʌlf/verb
engulf is spelled E-N-G-U-L-F: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, engulf means “To overwhelm” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in engulf?
| Letters | 6: E-N-G-U-L-F |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is engulf?
Engulf appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce engulf?
- /ɪŋˈɡʌlf/
Engulf has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-engulf.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of engulf
- engulfs present, singular, he/she/it
- engulfing participle, present
- engulfed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does engulf mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To overwhelm.
Depression engulfed her after her daughter's death.
- 2
To surround; to cover; to submerge.
Only Noah and his family survived when the Flood engulfed the world.
- 3
To cast into a gulf.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Engulf in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | submerger , engloutir, engouffrer |
| German | überwältigen , verschlingen |
| Portuguese | engolir, engolfar , cobrir |
| Spanish | envolver, sepultar, tragar, engullir, sumirse en, engolfar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does engulf come from?
From en- + gulf.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).