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

On Lagi, Eva Erickson was having trouble completing the puzzle, and began to feel overwhelmed even as her teammates cheered her on. —Emily Deletter, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025

Caring for a baby is tough, and feeling overwhelmed is normal. —Bo Hyoun Choi, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2025

Claudia Giolitti-Wright, MA, LMFT, the founder of Psychotherapy for Young Women in New York City, commonly recommends this technique to her clients who struggle with anxiety or find themselves, like me, perpetually overwhelmed. —Julia Ries, SELF, 26 Mar. 2025

The strike hit the surgical building of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, the ministry said, days after the facility was overwhelmed with dead and wounded when Israel resumed the war in Gaza last week with a surprise wave of airstrikes. —arkansasonline.com, 24 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1