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
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.
Over time, though, art that celebrated properties like “Ghostbusters,” “Back to the Future” and “The Goonies” started to overwhelm the market, causing “a lot of the 1970s and ‘80s movies to become stale,” Whalen says.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
As a result, these insects can tolerate higher levels of cold-related stress and continue functioning in conditions that would overwhelm most species.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026
Coordinated attacks via networks of hijacked devices, used to overwhelm systems, also more than doubled in 2025 and are becoming more common thanks to services available for hire.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 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
I always put music on when I paint, but for the first time I can remember, I’m afraid that the colors will overwhelm me.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
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.
