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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.
Examples of sodden in a Sentence
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Oct. 2025
One letter, brisk and to the point, is from the neighbor of a family in Lancashire, who find that for reasons that cannot be explained, their home is regularly left sodden by water which seems to materialize from nowhere.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
Some of the areas facing storms are already sodden from days of rain, adding to the risk, Buckingham said.
—John Bacon, USA Today, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sodden
Cite this Entry
“Sodden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sodden. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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