whelm

verb

ˈ(h)welm 

whelmed; whelming; whelms

transitive verb

1

: to turn (something, such as a dish or vessel) upside down usually to cover something : cover or engulf completely with usually disastrous effect

2

: to overcome in thought or feeling : overwhelm

whelmed with a rush of joy

—G. A. Wagner

intransitive verb

: to pass or go over something so as to bury or submerge it

Did you know?

In the film comedy Ten Things I Hate About You (1999), the character Chastity Church asks, "I know you can be underwhelmed and you can be overwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" The answer, Chastity, is yes. Contemporary writers sometimes use whelm to denote a middle stage between underwhelm and overwhelm. But that's not how whelm has traditionally been used. Whelm and overwhelm have been with us since Middle English (when they were whelmen and overwhelmen), and throughout the years their meanings have largely overlapped. Both words early on meant "to overturn," for example, and both have also come to mean "to overpower in thought or feeling." After folks started using a third word, underwhelmed, for "unimpressed," whelmed began popping up with the meaning "moderately impressed."

Synonyms

• crush
• devastate
• floor
• grind (down)
• oppress
• overcome
• overmaster
• overpower
• overwhelm
• prostrate
• snow under
• swamp

Examples of whelm in a Sentence

the news so whelmed them that they were stunned into silence

Recent Examples on the Web

You’ll definitely be whelmed by the legit chemistry between Kat and Patrick, rebel teens who steal the show with their sweetness and dazzling wits. —Angelique Jackson, Variety, 12 May 2023

Its reputation is built on the backs of 3-series gone by, as this is the first ever 3 to merely whelm us. —Alexander Stoklosa, Car and Driver, 26 July 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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Kids Definition

whelm

verb

ˈhwelm 

ˈwelm

: overwhelm sense 2