1.
to wash away, to sweep away
For water, flood, or other force to carry something away by pushing.
洪水で橋が押し流された。
The bridge was washed away by the flood.
津波が家を押し流した。
The tsunami swept away the houses.
激流に押し流されないように気をつけて。
Be careful not to be swept away by the rapids.
2.
to overwhelm, to sweep aside
Figuratively, to overwhelm something with force, to brush aside or disregard.
反対意見を押し流して強行した。
They pushed through despite opposition, sweeping aside objections.
COMPOUND VERB: 押す (to push) + 流す (to let flow) = to push and let flow away
TRANSITIVITY: Transitive. Takes を to mark what is being washed/swept away. Often used in passive form 押し流される.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 洪水に押し流される (to be washed away by a flood)
- 津波に押し流される (to be swept away by a tsunami)
- 濁流に押し流される (to be swept away by muddy torrents)
USAGE NOTE: Very commonly used in disaster news reporting. The passive form 押し流される is particularly frequent.
RELATED ～流す COMPOUND VERBS:
- 流し込む - to pour into
- 洗い流す - to wash away
- 吹き流す - to blow away