1
as in overpowering
Related Words
Relevance
2
as in crushing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
3
as in staggering
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in devastating
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress
just the thought of how much work there is to do overwhelms me
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in flooding
to cover with a flood
that spring the massive runoff from melting snows overwhelmed the valley
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overwhelming
John Brandon, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2026
But the process of finding what works for her daughter has been overwhelming.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
The best looks let the women of Hollywood shine through, rather than overwhelming them.
—Gretta Monahan, Boston Herald, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for overwhelming
Adjective
Regardless, the admin functions can still feel overwhelming.
—John Brandon, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2026
But the process of finding what works for her daughter has been overwhelming.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
Any vines that are overwhelming a tree in this fashion need to be removed or drastically pruned.
—Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
The best looks let the women of Hollywood shine through, rather than overwhelming them.
—Gretta Monahan, Boston Herald, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for overwhelming
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overwhelming
Adjective
-
Against Mexico, Skenes struck out seven across four overpowering innings.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Most tasters appreciated that this spread had a nice taste and was not too sweet or overpowering.—
Catherine Jessee,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Even the laughs and smiles that Joe and Kate Keller issue are fleeting, a respite from the journey toward a more crushing reality.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
South Africa’s police chief was charged with corruption as part of a probe that has exposed the staggering graft problem in the continent’s biggest economy.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
26 Mar. 2026
-
For a president to cast such ungodly stones at a deceased public servant is staggering.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Our team found that a hospital cyberattack cut the odds of surviving a cardiac arrest without devastating brain damage by nearly 90% at nearby hospitals, not just the one that was attacked.—
Jeffrey Tully,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
But the war now is devastating it.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The American Jewish community responded to the Yom Kippur War, which killed nearly three thousand Israeli soldiers, by flooding Israel with donations; doctors and students volunteered to join the war effort.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The roots hold fast to mud and soil, reducing erosion and absorbing the power of storm surge to protect inland areas from flooding.—
Ryan Kellman,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Numinous plein-air compositions, showing the patients around the institution’s grounds, assert the irresistible force of nature.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Because Perez emerged as an irresistible force in more ways than one — including to managers trying to restrain themselves.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Even in the absence of any proven crime committed by Tisch, even in the naivest retelling or understanding of Tisch’s correspondences with Epstein, his unacceptable relationship with this man deserves censure.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Artemis has been trudging along at a once-every-three-years flight rate, which Isaacman deems unacceptable.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Rinko Kikuchi is stupendous as a ballroom-dancing widow infatuated with her instructor.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
-
To proceed more or less in order, renewables are now increasingly backstopped not by fossil fuels but by batteries, which have grown cheaper at a stupendous pace.—
Bill McKibben,
The New York Review of Books,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overwhelming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overwhelming. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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