overwhelmed
Americanadjective
-
completely overcome in mind or feeling.
She told the overwhelmed and sobbing mother she would take care of all medical expenses.
-
loaded, filled, or addressed with an excessive amount of anything.
Over 100 dogs were transported to other parts of the state from overwhelmed animal shelters on the coast.
-
overpowered or crushed, as by superior forces.
The aim of the coalition's operation was to stop the dictator and his army from attacking already overwhelmed rebel troops.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of overwhelmed
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.
“Losing two loved ones so close together has left me overwhelmed with grief and facing challenges I never expected.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
"Many institutions appear to be overwhelmed, understaffed, and not fully prepared for the volume of requests received over the past few months," he says.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
These higher-order effects are much harder to achieve because they are naturally very weak and quickly become overwhelmed by noise.
From Science Daily • May 1, 2026
In Florida, a viral video shows a woman, overwhelmed with emotion, pleading with an immigration judge to free her terminally ill father from ICE detention.
From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026
That first session of therapy left me feeling raw and overwhelmed.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
