phrasal verb

• (of words or facts) be fully understood or realized.

  ‘Peter read the letter twice before its meaning sank in’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Maura was about to open her mouth to say more, when his words fully began to sink in.’
  • ‘The words his father spoke sank in and he realized how close he'd come to being murdered.’
  • ‘However, reality quickly sinks in as you realize that seconds wasted cost lives.’
  • ‘Whether this reality has yet to fully sink in with the majority of the American people is unclear.’
  • ‘Once this fact sinks in the consequences will be profound.’
  • ‘I think the fact started sinking in that we weren't dating anymore, for which I was grateful.’
  • ‘He left me standing there, tears running down my face, the reality of his words not sinking in till much later.’
  • ‘I decided it was best to give her some time to think about those words and let it sink in.’
  • ‘Jesse's face softened but his heart stood still as the last of her words sank in.’
  • ‘How much more of this do we need to see before the truth sinks in?’
  • ‘Once that truth sinks in, perhaps a serious attempt at resolving the dispute can begin.’
  • ‘Whatever poison she'd been fed about me hadn't sunk in, and she accepted me completely.’
  • ‘But after getting over the initial shock of hearing the man talk, his words sunk in.’
  • ‘I heard what Sam said, but it only sunk in a few moments later that he was talking to me.’
  • ‘I don't think what I've seen and heard earlier today has really sunk in just yet.’
  • ‘Even then Grandmother's talk, which I heard many times, had finally sunk in.’
  • ‘Stuart has now returned after his 109-day feat and said the events of the past months had not yet sunk in.’
  • ‘Friday arrived, and it still hadn't completely sunk in she was leaving.’
  • ‘I felt very numb, and I don't think the reality of what was happening had completely sunk in just yet.’
  • ‘Her climb up this ‘scary ladder’ still hasn't completely sunk in.’

  Synonyms

  register, penetrate, be understood, be comprehended, be realized, be taken in, be grasped, become clear, get through

  View synonyms