overwhelm
Americanverb (used with object)
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to overcome completely in mind or feeling.
overwhelmed by remorse.
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to overpower or overcome, especially with superior forces; destroy; crush.
Roman troops were overwhelmed by barbarians.
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to cover or bury beneath a mass of something, as floodwaters, debris, or an avalanche; submerge.
Lava from erupting Vesuvius overwhelmed the city of Pompeii.
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to load, heap, treat, or address with an overpowering or excessive amount of anything.
a child overwhelmed with presents; to overwhelm someone with questions.
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to overthrow.
verb
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to overpower the thoughts, emotions, or senses of
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to overcome with irresistible force
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to overcome, as with a profusion or concentration of something
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to cover over or bury completely
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to weigh or rest upon overpoweringly
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archaic to overturn
Usage
What’s the difference between overwhelm and underwhelm? The over- in overwhelm means “too much” and the under- in underwhelm essentially means “too little,” and the two words can be direct opposites, but they’re usually used in different contexts. Overwhelm most commonly means to cause to be overcome with emotion as a result of an amount of something (work, stress, etc.) that’s just too much to handle. (It can also mean to overpower or physically cover beneath a mass of something). Underwhelm means to fail to impress, especially when that is the expectation. Both words are often used in adjective forms: overwhelmed (overcome to the point of not being able to manage), overwhelming (describing something that leads to feeling overwhelmed), underwhelmed (unimpressed or disappointed), and underwhelming (unimpressive or disappointing). Being overwhelmed isn’t always about stress or other negative emotions. You could be overwhelmed by a friend’s generosity or the birth of a child. Still, it’s usually about feeling a lot. In this way, underwhelm can be the opposite of overwhelm in some situations. For example, the same concert may overwhelm one person (perhaps it’s the first concert they’ve ever attended) but underwhelm someone else (maybe because it doesn’t meet their high expectations). And, yes, whelm is a word. It can mean the same thing as overwhelm, but it’s very rarely used. Here’s an example of overwhelm and underwhelm used correctly in the same sentence. Example: I never want to underwhelm the fans, and sometimes that pressure can overwhelm me, but it all goes away when I walk on stage. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between overwhelm and underwhelm.
Etymology
Origin of overwhelm
A Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at over-, whelm
Explanation
Overwhelm means “give a person too much of something.” If your friend agrees to feed your pet fish while you’re on vacation, don’t overwhelm her with requests by also asking her to do your laundry and wash the dishes. While it’s easy to be overwhelmed by chores or complaints, it’s also possible to be overwhelmed by good things — if they occur in large quantities. You might enjoy a stack of pancakes for breakfast, but you'd probably find a truckload of pancakes overwhelming. Sometimes people feel overwhelmed by emotion, and this can be a positive or negative experience, depending on the emotion. For example, you might feel overwhelmed by gratitude if your friend takes excellent care of your fish, but overwhelmed with grief if the fish is accidentally flushed in your absence.
Vocabulary lists containing overwhelm
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Anti-Antonyms: Words Without Opposites
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List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They included evidence of North Korea's ability to mount miniaturised nuclear warheads and conduct "saturation attacks" that overwhelm enemy interception networks with sheer quantity, Lim said.
From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026
Too many choices can lead to overwhelm; many people in an IRA are in cash, because they look at the 10,000-plus options available and they don’t know what to do with the money.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
In that time, we had the team where you had that momentum and we'd just dominate teams for 10-15-minute spells where the speed we put into the game was ridiculous and we could overwhelm teams.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026
If the snowpack melts too fast, the surge of water can overwhelm rivers and infrastructure, leading to flooding and water supply shortages later in the season.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
Jack smiled at this, watching the regular birds futilely attempt to overwhelm their supernatural cousins.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
