flown

Word family

• fly
  verbA2
• flow
  verbB1
• flow
  nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe abundance beyond a normal limit, but they differ in tone and typical context. 'Flown' is the rarest and most literary of the group; it is almost never used in casual conversation and carries an old-fashioned or poetic flavour. 'Brimming' is neutral and pleasant, suggesting the perfect point just before overflow (a brimming glass of juice, eyes brimming with tears). 'Overflowing' is stronger and more concrete, describing active spillage (an overflowing sink, bins overflowing with rubbish). 'Teeming' describes a dense, lively abundance of people, animals, or things (a street teeming with shoppers, a river teeming with fish) and is not used for liquids in containers. For a learner: use 'brimming' in everyday situations, 'overflowing' when things are actually spilling, and 'teeming' for crowds or wildlife. Reserve 'flown' for literary writing where an elevated tone is intended.

Common collocations

Etymology

'Flown' in this sense comes from the past participle of 'fly' (Old English 'flēogan'), but the meaning 'filled to excess' arose in Middle English through a different path — from the verb 'flow' (Old English 'flōwan'), whose past participle 'flowen' blended with the form of 'fly' due to phonetic similarity. By the 16th century, writers used 'flown' to mean 'overflowed, swollen with liquid', a sense that has since become rare and literary.