overwhelm

verb

over·whelm ˌō-vər-ˈ(h)welm

overwhelmed; overwhelming; overwhelms

Synonyms of overwhelm next

transitive verb

: upset, overthrow

The tornado overwhelmed many mobile homes.

: to cover over completely : submerge

The city was overwhelmed by the flooding caused by the hurricane.

: to overcome by superior force or numbers

The city was overwhelmed by the invading army.

: to overpower in thought or feeling

overwhelmed with grief

overwhelmed by terror

A sense of inadequacy overwhelmed me.

overwhelmed with guilt

Did you know?

Let’s face it: life can get overwhelming. A person might be overwhelmed by a sensory experience or emotion; a city might be overwhelmed by an influx of tourists. Things can underwhelm, too: a bland meal, a bare wall, a lackluster playlist. But how often does an experience just, well, whelm you? The answer, unassumingly, is just as often as one overwhelms you—the two verbs are in fact largely synonymous. Both come from Middle English whelmen, meaning "to overturn," and overwhelm has always been more popular, perhaps because the emphatic redundancy of overwhelm makes it seem more apt for describing reactions to powerful forces or feelings.

Examples of overwhelm in a Sentence

Don't overwhelm him with facts. They were overwhelmed with work. The city was overwhelmed by the invading army.

Recent Examples on the Web

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This lack of collaboration is untenable in the current reality where the sea of fast-moving, stealth attackers threatens to overwhelm the dike entirely. —

Jonathan Fischbein, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025 While liberals run the country from the Washington bureaucracy out to the grassroots, conservatives run the country by arousing the grassroots to overwhelm the resistance of Washington. —

Newt Gingrich, Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2025 There’s also a whisper of damask rose weaving throughout, adding an elegant touch without overwhelming the composition. —

Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 10 Jan. 2025 One shot of Shelly twirling around silently in Las Vegas’s lights is enough to show how those neon glares threaten to overwhelm her. —

Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for overwhelm