overwhelmed

adjective

over·​whelmed ˌō-vər-ˈ(h)welmd 

1

: overcome by force or numbers

Some jurisdictions are so overwhelmed that they are experimenting with routing school-children into specially designed courts that would keep first-time offenders from being saddled with an arrest record.

—Gary Fields and John R. Emshwiller

Only three Coast Guard rescue helicopters had managed to get into the air, and each was already overwhelmed by dozens of calls for help.

—Christopher Cooper and Robert Block

"We were overwhelmed," said John Robinson, the Rams' coach. "Clearly dominated."

—Paul Zimmerman

2

: completely overcome or overpowered by thought or feeling

When he first appeared in full regalia, I was overwhelmed.

—Jane Davison

Suddenly he felt overwhelmed by a wash of terror.

—Holly Black

He finds that the institutions that might compensate for what overwhelmed parents are unable to do are themselves undermined by stingy public policies.

—Lisbeth B. Schorr

Examples of overwhelmed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And for Honoré Prentice of Canada, who was so overwhelmed when his brother first reached out, the ultimate reunion has been joyful and powerful. —Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 31 May 2024

In New Delhi, where walking out of the house felt like walking into an oven, officials feared that the electricity grid was being overwhelmed and that the city’s water supply might need rationing. —Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 29 May 2024

But after that moment, the Indian defense was overwhelmed with Guyer’s aggressive base running and offensive prowess. —Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 May 2024

Solow-Niederman told The Markup that one problem is that regulators are overwhelmed and can’t fully enforce penalties for companies caught violating privacy regulations. —Colin Lecher and Ross Teixeira, USA TODAY, 15 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1