underwhelm

verb

un·der·whelm ˌən-dər-ˈ(h)welm

underwhelmed; underwhelming; underwhelms

Synonyms of underwhelm next

transitive verb

: to fail to impress or stimulate

the movie underwhelmed most reviewers

Did you know?

Overwhelm and its rare synonym whelm have both been around since the Middle Ages, but underwhelm is a 20th-century coinage. Both overwhelm and whelm come from the Middle English whelmen, meaning "to turn over" or "to cover up." Underwhelm is a playful overturning of overwhelm that is well suited for contexts in which something fails to excite. As is often the case with younger words, there is a certain amount of misinformation regarding where underwhelm came from. We have seen reports that the playwright George S. Kaufman coined it, and also that the famed sportswriter Red Smith claimed to have used it first. Neither of these is likely to be accurate, for the simple fact that there is evidence that underwhelming was used, albeit as an adjective, before either of these men was born.

Examples of underwhelm in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The value of that stake has soared in the past two years even though the team’s on-field performance has continued to underwhelm. —

John Dobosz, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024 Rashford certainly wasn’t the only one to underwhelm with United’s central midfield unit particularly weak in and out of possession. —

Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024 Unlike last season down the road with the Hoosiers in Bloomington, this NBA baptism has come in measured doses, intended not to overwhelm, but also with expectations of Ware not to underwhelm. —

Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 Nov. 2024 Apple underwhelms Kodak Digital photography is another example. —

Will Daniel, Fortune, 9 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for underwhelm