Definition

Verb: * To make a sound impossible or very difficult to hear by being much louder. * To overpower or overwhelm one sound with another, more dominant sound.

Usage

The verb "drown out" is a phrasal verb used to describe the action where a louder sound completely covers or masks a quieter sound, making the quieter sound inaudible. It is typically used in the structure: [Louder Sound] drowns out [Quieter Sound].

Examples

• The sound of the heavy rain drowned out our conversation.
• His speech was drowned out by the protesters' chants.
• I turned up the radio to drown out the noise from the construction site.
• The singer's voice was completely drowned out by the electric guitars.

Advanced Usage

• Figurative Use: "Drown out" can be used metaphorically to describe overwhelming something non-physical, such as an emotion or a thought.
  • She tried to drown out her anxiety by keeping constantly busy.
  • The positive reviews were drowned out by the wave of criticism.

Variants and Related Words

• Drown (verb): The base verb, which literally means to die from submersion in water. Figuratively, it can also mean to overwhelm.
  • Literal: Be careful not to drown in the deep end.
  • Figurative: He drowned his sorrows in alcohol.

Synonyms

• Overpower
• Overwhelm
• Mask
• Muffle
• Smother (in a sound context)

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Drown in: To be overwhelmed by a large amount of something (often non-physical).
  • The company is drowning in debt.
• Drown out does not have further phrasal verb variants itself.

Verb

1. make imperceptible
   • The noise from the ice machine drowned out the music