engulf vs soak up

engulf and soak up both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
engulf	No	No	Yes	No
soak up	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, engulf and soak up are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of engulf include absorb, engross, immerse, plunge, steep.

engulf (verb)	soak up (verb)
devote (oneself) fully to	devote (oneself) fully to
flow over or cover completely	take in, also metaphorically