noyer

Senses

1. 1.

   to drown

   to cause to die by submersion in water

2. 2.

   to flood; to submerge

   to cover or fill with water

3. 3.

   to overwhelm

   to overpower or obscure with volume or intensity

Examples

• "L'enfant s'est noyé dans la rivière."

  The child drowned in the river.

• "Les pluies ont noyé les champs."

  The rains flooded the fields.

• "Il a noyé le poisson dans le beurre."

  He drowned the fish in butter (overwhelmed it with butter).

Usage

Common in literal contexts (drowning, flooding) and figurative expressions (noyer le poisson = to distract from the main issue; se noyer dans un verre d'eau = to make a mountain out of a molehill). The reflexive form se noyer means "to drown" (intransitive). Standard register.