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Douse vs Deluge - What's the difference?

douse | deluge |

In transitive terms the difference between douse and deluge

is that douse is to strike while deluge is to overwhelm.

As verbs the difference between douse and deluge

is that douse is to plunge suddenly into water; to duck; to immerse while deluge is to flood with water.

As nouns the difference between douse and deluge

is that douse is a blow; stroke while deluge is a great flood or rain.

As a proper noun Deluge is

the Biblical flood during the time of Noah.

douse

English

Etymology 1

Probably of (etyl) origin, related to (etyl) and (douse) below.

Alternative forms

*

Verb

  • (ambitransitive) To plunge suddenly into water; to duck; to immerse.
  • To fall suddenly into water.
  • (Hudibras)
  • To put out; to extinguish.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) duschen, .

    Verb

    (dous)
  • To strike.
  • (nautical) To strike or lower in haste; to slacken suddenly; as, douse the topsail.
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • A blow; stroke.
  • Anagrams

    *

    deluge

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A great flood or rain.
  • The deluge continued for hours, drenching the land and slowing traffic to a halt.
  • An overwhelming amount of something; anything that overwhelms or causes great destruction.
  • The rock concert was a deluge of sound.
  • * Milton
  • A fiery deluge fed / With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed.
  • * Lowell
  • The little bird sits at his door in the sun, / Atilt like a blossom among the leaves, / And lets his illumined being o'errun / With the deluge of summer it receives.
  • (Military engineering) A damage control system on navy warships which is activated by excessive temperature within the Vertical Launching System.
  • * NAVEDTRA 14324A
  • In the event of a restrained firing or canister overtemperature condition, the deluge system sprays cooling water within the canister until the overtemperature condition no longer exists.

    Verb

  • To flood with water.
  • To overwhelm.
  • After the announcement, they were deluged with requests for more information.

    References

    * 1996, T.F. Hoad, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology , Oxford University Press, ISBN 0192830988

    See also

    * inundate ----