Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- transitive v. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline.
- transitive v. To defeat completely and decisively: Our team overwhelmed the visitors by 40 points.
- transitive v. To affect deeply in mind or emotion: Despair overwhelmed me.
- transitive v. To present with an excessive amount: They overwhelmed us with expensive gifts.
- transitive v. To turn over; upset: The small craft was overwhelmed by the enormous waves.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- v. To engulf, surge-over and submerge
- v. To overpower, crush
- v. To overpower emotionally
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. The act of overwhelming.
- transitive 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.
- transitive v. To project or impend over threateningly.
- transitive v. To cause to surround, to cover.
from The 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.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- 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 Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Examples
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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
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Can the national trend against anyone with a "D" after his or her name overwhelm local events?
Aaron Harber: The Nation's Political Testing Ground: Colorado Elections & Candidates
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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Some theorize that labels overwhelm customers with new music on purpose.
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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.
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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.
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Hubby thinks it would kind of overwhelm me but it is crying to be made and worn.
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