sodden

1 of 2

adjective

sod·​den ˈsä-dᵊn 

1

a

: dull or expressionless especially from continued indulgence in alcoholic beverages

sodden features

b

: torpid, sluggish

sodden minds

2

a

: heavy with or as if with moisture or water

the sodden ground

b

: heavy or doughy because of imperfect cooking

sodden biscuits

soddenly adverb

soddenness

ˈsä-dᵊn-(n)əs 

noun

sodden

2 of 2

verb

soddened; soddening ˈsä-dᵊn-iŋ 

ˈsäd-niŋ

transitive verb

: to make sodden

intransitive verb

: to become soaked or saturated

Did you know?

Nowadays, seethed is the past tense and past participle form of the verb seethe (which originally meant "to boil or stew"). Originally, however, seethe could also be conjugated in the past tense as sod and in the past participle as sodden. By the 14th century, sodden had become an independent adjective synonymous with boiled. And, by the 16th century, it had taken on the figurative sense used to describe someone who appears dull, expressionless, or stupid, particularly as a result of heavy drinking. Today, sodden is commonly used as a synonym of soaked or saturated. Seethe followed a different figurative path: while one who is sodden may appear dull, torpid, or sluggish, one who is seething is highly agitated, like a pot of boiling water.

Synonyms

Adjective

• awash
• bathed
• bedraggled
• doused
• dowsed
• drenched
• dripping
• logged
• saturate
• saturated
• soaked
• soaking
• soggy
• sopping
• soppy
• soused
• washed
• water-soaked
• watered
• waterlogged
• watery
• wet

Verb

• bathe
• bedraggle
• douse
• dowse
• drench
• drown
• soak
• sop
• souse
• wash
• water
• water-soak
• waterlog
• wet
• wet down

Examples of sodden in a Sentence

Adjective

eyes peering out between strands of sodden hair

Verb

soldiers' boots that were soddened by endless hours in muddy trenches

cornflakes that had been soddened in milk to the point of mush

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

But discoveries of ocean worlds on Saturn’s Enceladus and Jupiter’s Europa, both of which have spouted similar-looking plumes, have made scientists cautiously hopeful that the Neptunian moon could also be harboring a sodden secret. —Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Nov. 2024

Even though his dumb blog has only three readers, Google Face identifies my sodden visage by name, and puts those pictures into the eternal damnation of Google Image search results. —IEEE Spectrum, 22 Feb. 2010

Verb

Vermont, still sodden from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl three weeks ago, was soaked yet again on Tuesday as catastrophic flooding inundated the northeastern part of the state. —Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 30 July 2024

Adding to the misery, the rainy season has set in, flooding already sodden tent camps where many live. —A Special Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English soden, from past participle of sethen to seethe

First Known Use

Adjective

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1812, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

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Kids Definition

sodden

adjective

sod·​den

ˈsäd-ᵊn

1

: heavy with moisture : soaked

2

a

: dull or lacking in expression

b

: sluggish, dull

sodden minds

soddenly adverb