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sensory overload

American

[sen-suh-ree oh-ver-lohd] / ˈsɛn sə ri ˈoʊ vərˌloʊd /

noun

Physiology, Medicine/Medical.

a condition of being overwhelmed by an excessive amount of such stimuli as noise, activity, the company of emotional people, etc..

An anxiety disorder like PTSD can make sensory overload especially easy to trigger.

Etymology

Origin of sensory overload

First recorded in 1955–60

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.

See Examples For:

sensory overload

The result is a raucous, interactive, sensory overload.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

In Denver, head to the immersive art installation Meow Wolf for sensory overload and to your nearest craft brewery or green-chile slinger for fuel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026

Each doll comes with a pink fidget spinner to reduce stress and improve focus, and noise-cancelling headphones to block out background sounds and therefore limit sensory overload.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026

Autistic people may experience challenges with communication, understanding others' thoughts or emotions, managing sensory overload, coping with unfamiliar environments, and engaging in repetitive behaviors.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 28, 2025

The hood was a complete sensory overload for me, but within the chaos there was order, a system, a social hierarchy based on where you lived.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023