sinking

Noun
Synonyms: sinking feeling

WordNet 3.0

Noun (3)

  1. a descent as through liquid (especially through water)“they still talk about the sinking of the Titanic”
  2. a slow fall or decline (as for lack of strength)“after several hours of sinking an unexpected rally rescued the market”“he could not control the sinking of his legs”
  3. a feeling caused by uneasiness or apprehension“with a sinking heart”“a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach”Synonyms: sinking feeling
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Sink \Sink\ (s[i^][ng]k), v. i. [imp. Sunk (s[u^][ng]k), or (Sank (s[a^][ng]k)); p. p. Sunk (obs. Sunken, -- now used as adj.); p. pr. & vb. n. Sinking.] [OE. sinken, AS. sincan; akin to D. zinken, OS. sincan, G. sinken, Icel. s["o]kkva, Dan. synke, Sw. sjunka, Goth. siggan, and probably to E. silt. Cf. Silt.]

1.To fall by, or as by, the force of gravity; to descend lower and lower; to decline gradually; to subside; as, a stone sinks in water; waves rise and sink; the sun sinks in the west. [1913 Webster]

I sink in deep mire.— Ps. lxix. 2.[1913 Webster]

2.To enter deeply; to fall or retire beneath or below the surface; to penetrate. [1913 Webster]

The stone sunk into his forehead.— 1 San. xvii. 49.[1913 Webster]

3.Hence, to enter so as to make an abiding impression; to enter completely. [1913 Webster]

Let these sayings sink down into your ears.— Luke ix. 44.[1913 Webster]

4.To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fall slowly, as so the ground, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease. [1913 Webster]

I think our country sinks beneath the yoke.— Shak.[1913 Webster]
He sunk down in his chariot.— 2 Kings ix. 24.[1913 Webster]
Let not the fire sink or slacken.— Mortimer.[1913 Webster]

5.To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height. [1913 Webster]

The Alps and Pyreneans sink before him.— Addison.[1913 Webster]

Syn: To fall; subside; drop; droop; lower; decline; decay; decrease; lessen. [1913 Webster]

Sinking \Sink"ing\, a. & n. from Sink. [1913 Webster]

Sinking fund. See under Fund.

Sinking head (Founding), a riser from which the mold is fed as the casting shrinks. See Riser, n., 4.

Sinking pump, a pump which can be lowered in a well or a mine shaft as the level of the water sinks. [1913 Webster]

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