whelm
Americanverb (used with object)
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to submerge; engulf.
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to overcome utterly; overwhelm.
whelmed by misfortune.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to engulf entirely with or as if with water
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another word for overwhelm
Etymology
Origin of whelm
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Middle English whelme, apparently blend of dialectal whelve, from Old English gehwelfan “to bend over,” and helm 2 (verb), from Old English helmian “to cover”
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.
That would be up to you, and if you go that way, spicy is available, too — definitely whelming, if not overly so.
From Seattle Times
I reviewed it and found it completely ...whelming.
From The Verge
She’s walking through the school quadrangle, ruminating on whether one “can ever just be whelmed”.
From The Guardian
He was like a worn small rock whelmed by the successive waves of his voice.
From Literature
Inside it, the kingcups bloomed and the brook whelmed up from its source.
From Literature
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.
