ENGULF
steep, immerse, engulf, plunge, engross, absorb, soak up
(verb) devote (oneself) fully to; “He immersed himself into his studies”
engulf
(verb) flow over or cover completely; “The bright light engulfed him completely”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
engulf (third-person singular simple present engulfs, present participle engulfing, simple past and past participle engulfed)
(transitive) To overwhelm.
(transitive) To surround; to cover.
(transitive) To cast into a gulf.
Source: Wiktionary
En*gulf", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Engulfed; p. pr. & vb. n. Engulfing.]
Etym: [Pref. en- + gulf: cf. OF. engolfer. Cf. Ingulf.]
Definition: To absorb or swallow up as in a gulf.
It quite engulfs all human thought. Young.
Syn.
– See Absorb.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition