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.
"In our study, pesticides began to accumulate in queens over time, suggesting that worker filtration capacity can be overwhelmed," Encerrado-Manriquez said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
By 2015, however, crippling anxiety and loss of control left him so overwhelmed that he carried a water bottle everywhere, terrified that he might choke on his own saliva.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Yeo, who was taking orders at the front of the stall, declined to comment further on the incident, saying he felt "overwhelmed by the attention".
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Two Auschwitz survivors are still overwhelmed, 60 years later, when they describe finding each other in the Lutetia’s lobby in 1945.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
She was tired of feeling overwhelmed by Reuben, done with letting him push her around.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
