[Vocabulary] Under a river?

[Jack_Rose]

Hello,

Would you please tell me what verb means "one deliberately disappears under water for a while"?

Thanks in advance.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello,

Would you please tell me what verb means "one deliberately disappears under water for a while"?

Thanks in advance.

My first reaction is "to dunk". You can dunk someone else in water, though I'm not sure that it would absolutely have to mean that they disappear entirely under the water. I don't think it's impossible to say "I dunked myself under the water for a moment to make my friends think I'd vanished/drowned!"

 

[Raymott]

Hello,

Would you please tell me what verb means "one deliberately disappears under water for a while"?

Thanks in advance.

dive

When asking for a verb, start the meaning with 'to', because that is how verbs are expressed. Eg. "Tell me a verb which means 'to deliberately disappear underwater for a while."

 

[emsr2d2]

dive

When asking for a verb, start the meaning with 'to', because that is how verbs are expressed. Eg. "Tell me a verb which means 'to deliberately disappear underwater for a while."

"Dive" works too but, to me, would specifically mean going headfirst into the water before disappearing under it for a short time.

 

[Jack_Rose]

Dear Raymottand emsr2d2,

Thank you very much. You are teaching me much.

 

[Raymott]

"Dive" works too but, to me, would specifically mean going headfirst into the water before disappearing under it for a short time.

Maybe. Is 'dunk' intransitive though? A submarine dives, but doesn't go headfirst.
I'm not sure why Jack thinks that there is a verb that conforms to such complex criteria.

 

[emsr2d2]

Maybe. Is 'dunk' intransitive though? A submarine dives, but doesn't go headfirst.
I'm not sure why Jack thinks that there is a verb that conforms to such complex criteria.

Good point about the submarine! ;-)

"Dunk" was the closest I could get but I would really only use it when someone dunks someone or something else under the water. Even my reflexive use didn't really work, now I think about it.

 

[5jj]

When asking for a verb, start the meaning with 'to', because that is how verbs are expressed. Eg. "Tell me a verb which means 'to deliberately disappear underwater for a while."

It is not often I disagree with you, Raymott, but this is one of those occasions. The idea that 'to' is part of the verb, or of its definition, is, in my opinion, incorrect.

Tell me a verb which means 'deliberately disappear underwater for a while'.

 

[TheParser]

Hello,

Would you please tell me what verb means "one deliberately disappears under water for a while"?

Thanks in advance.

NOT A TEACHER


DEAR MR. ROSE:


May I respectfully suggest "to submerge," as in:

He submerged himself in the lake for 10 minutes.


James

 

[Raymott]

It is not often I disagree with you, Raymott, but this is one of those occasions. The idea that 'to' is part of the verb, or of its definition, is, in my opinion, incorrect.

Tell me a verb which means 'deliberately disappear underwater for a while'.

Yes, that's another option. My point really was that you can't say, "Tell me a verb that means 'someone deliberately goes under the water'." OR, "tell me a verb that means a person who has red hair". If you're asking for a verb, your description has to be of a verb. (You have changed the sentence from the original in a satisfactory way).
'To' or not 'to' isn't really the problem; though I would still use it in such a question. When I went to school, "to dive" was a verb, and you'll note that TheParser also uses "to submerge" as a verb. But you can see that that wasn't my point.

 

[5jj]

Yes, that's another option. My point really was that you can't say, "Tell me a verb that means 'someone deliberately goes under the water'." OR, "tell me a verb that means a person who has red hair". If you're asking for a verb, your description has to be of a verb. (You have changed the sentence from the original in a satisfactory way).
'To' or not 'to' isn't really the problem; though I would still use it in such a question. When I went to school, "to dive" was a verb, and you'll note that TheParser also uses "to submerge" as a verb. But you can see that that wasn't my point.

Point taken. 'To dive' was the verb when I was at school, too.