Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline.
- v. To defeat completely and decisively: Our team overwhelmed the visitors by 40 points.
- v. To affect deeply in mind or emotion: Despair overwhelmed me.
- v. To present with an excessive amount: They overwhelmed us with expensive gifts.
- v. To turn over; upset: The small craft was overwhelmed by the enormous waves.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To overturn and cover; overcome; swallow up; submerge; overpower: crush: literally or figuratively.
- To turn up; stir up; toss.
- To overhang or overlook.
- To turn over so as to cover; put over.
- Synonyms Overpower, Overthrow, etc. (see defeat), overbear.
- n. The act of overwhelming; an overpowering degree.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To cover over completely, as by a great wave; to overflow and bury beneath; to ingulf; hence, figuratively, to immerse and bear down; to overpower; to crush; to bury; to oppress, etc., overpoweringly.
- v. To project or impend over threateningly.
- v. To cause to surround, to cover.
- n. rare The act of overwhelming.
WordNet 3.0
- v. overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
- v. overcome by superior force
- v. cover completely or make imperceptible
- v. charge someone with too many tasks
Etymologies
- From over- + whelm, or rather Middle English whelmen. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“I do know that many small biz owners are in overwhelm and looking for a way out.”
Women Grow Business » The Limits of Social Networking Surrogacy
“Can the national trend against anyone with a "D" after his or her name overwhelm local events?”
“And then she gets angry and upset and the combination of her frustration and the pain overwhelm her and she cries and cries and cries and then curls up into a tired little ball and MY.”
“But as Mandela prepares to leave office on Wednesday, Clinton administration officials as well as private analysts say the positive aspects of his five-year term overwhelm the disagreements.”
“Sport Dinara Safina has vowed not to let her desire to win a grand slam singles title overwhelm her if she reaches the final at Wimbledon.”
WN.com - Articles related to Sharapova upset by Dulko at Wimbledon
“As the weeks wore on, Saddam opened up more and more as the FBI-CIA team leveraged its strategy to "overwhelm" - and break - him by confronting the deposed dictator with evidence of his crimes against humanity.”
“Some theorize that labels overwhelm customers with new music on purpose.”
“And using a large fraction of the earmarked $11.4 billion for cash bonuses could "overwhelm" long-term considerations in the minds of many employees, providing them with incentives to focus on short-term profits.”
The Wall Street Journal: Bebchuk: Paying for Performance at Goldman
“This exact same argument was made in 1999 to prevent inter partes reexaminations for any patents from applicatons filed before then, so as not to "overwhelm" the PTO, and by now has been proven completely unfounded.”
“Hubby thinks it would kind of overwhelm me but it is crying to be made and worn.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘overwhelm’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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It's Over: A Beginning
Terms that start with the string over-, beginning with overanxious.
Your entries are welcome.
overanxious, overachiever, oversimplified, overdone, overaccentuate, overact, overadjustment, overage, overaggressive, overalert, overalls, overambitious and 138 more...
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over-
above; upper; superior; eminent
overbearing, overrate, overshoot, overwhelm, overexert, overachiever, overact, overadjust, overambitious, overanalyze, overarching, overbooked and 42 more...
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Words for my English Learners
vast, superfluous, inevitable, though, pervasive, overwhelm, assume, presume, curious, eccentric, whimsical, quaint and 12 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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Miscellany
avid, shard, begone, gibes, romantic, inspiration, dashing, affliction, daring, elocution, hegemony, supercalifragilis... and 97 more...
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kringlan's Words
fecund, riposte, nebbish, nonpareil, deign, eschew, imbroglio, spelunking, fop, foofaraw, tundra, talon and 128 more...
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to acquire
moustache, thoughtcrime, lift, overall, razor, strength, oily, gin, oily gin, brotherhood, dull, toward and 108 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
contemplate, container, consumer, consultant, consensus, conscious, conscience, connection, confusion, confront, conflict, confident and 4334 more...
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My Words
Words that I use regularly and consider mine.
zen, poser, savvy, angst, flustered, bitter, whatsoever, farfetched, indeed, scenario, inevitable, salvage and 134 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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verbs
deprecate, behold, bemoan, circumscribe, circumspect, pivot, discombobulate, rummage, chasten, chastise, undulate, snog and 122 more...
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Three Sheets to the Wind
Common words or phrases of nautical origin that have taken on different or metaphorical meanings. Chained_bear and I tossed a coin over who would make the list. I won (or lost, depending on how you...
scuttlebutt, taken aback, brass monkey, boot camp, clean bill of health, three sheets to t..., the devil to pay, between the devil..., by and large, the whole nine yards, mind your ps and qs, slush fund and 116 more...
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ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
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Words from gof book
Nove reci za vezbanje
pertinent, overwhelm, consequently, recurring, recur, decouple, depict, plot, furnish\, convey, succinct, pitfall and 7 more...
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WendyW's Words
hapless, diction, abhor, discontent, overwhelm, hawking, pestilence, uninspired, perfunctory, puisssant, prolixity, importune and 18 more...
Tweets
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