Basic Details
Word: Deluge
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A great flood or a very heavy fall of rain; also a huge number of things arriving at the same time.
Synonyms: flood, torrent, downpour, rush
Antonyms: drought, trickle
How to Spell Deluge
Syllables: del - uge
Tricky part: The ending is uge, the same as huge and refuge. Students write delouge or deluje.
Watch out for: delouge, deluje, delluge
Memory tip: A deluge is a huge flood, and the two words share their last three letters: del-UGE, h-UGE.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The July deluge left many local trains stuck between stations.
Example 2: After the film's release, the director faced a deluge of messages from fans.
Example 3: Farmers who had waited all summer were now worried about the deluge flattening their crops.
Fun Fact
The flood in the story of Noah's ark is often called the Deluge, with a capital D.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to deluge as used in the sentence:
After the cyclone, a deluge of rain poured onto the low-lying streets for two whole days.
a) torrent
b) flood
c) trickle
d) downpour
Show answer
c) trickle. Rain that pours for two days is the reverse of a trickle, a thin, weak flow.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The radio station received a gdluee of letters after it stopped the children's programme.
a) lounge
b) refuge
c) deluge
d) delude
Show answer
c) deluge. Delude has a second d where the jumble has a g, so only deluge fits.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
d_l_ge
a) i, u
b) e, u
c) a, u
d) e, o
Show answer
b) e, u. The word is d-e-l-u-ge, with e first and u second.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. "The shop faced a deluge of complaints." This means ____.
a) one small complaint came
b) a huge number of complaints came at once
c) the complaints were about rain
d) no one complained
Show answer
b) a huge number of complaints came at once
2. Deluge can also be a verb. In which sentence is it a verb?
a) A deluge hit the town.
b) Fans deluged the actor with gifts.
c) We escaped the deluge.
d) The deluge lasted all night.
Show answer
b) Fans deluged the actor with gifts.
