overwhelming
Americanadjective
-
that overwhelms; overpowering.
The temptation to despair may become overwhelming.
-
so great as to render resistance or opposition useless.
an overwhelming majority.
adjective
Usage
What’s the difference between overwhelming and underwhelming? The over- in overwhelming means “too much” and the under- in underwhelming essentially means “too little,” and the two words can be direct opposites, but they’re usually used in different contexts. The verb 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. Something that’s overwhelming causes you to be overcome in this way. Underwhelm means to fail to impress, especially when that is the expectation. Underwhelming, then, means unimpressive or disappointing. Both words also have other adjective forms: overwhelmed (overcome to the point of not being able to manage) and underwhelmed (unimpressed or disappointed). Things that are overwhelming don’t always involve stress or other negative emotions. A friend’s generosity or the birth of a child can be overwhelming. Still, it’s usually about feeling a lot. In this way, underwhelming can be the opposite of overwhelming in some situations. For example, the same concert may be overwhelming for one person (perhaps it’s the first concert they’ve ever attended) but underwhelming for 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 overwhelming and underwhelming used correctly in the same sentence. Example: It was a bad dining experience—the noise in the restaurant was overwhelming and the food was underwhelming. Want to learn more? Read the breakdown of the difference between overwhelm and underwhelm.
Other Word Forms
- overwhelmingly adverb
- overwhelmingness noun
Etymology
Origin of overwhelming
Explanation
Something overwhelming is very intense and hard to deal with: overwhelming events make people worried and stressed out. It's hard to overcome overwhelming things. If you feel an overwhelming need to laugh, you're probably going to laugh. If you have an overwhelming feeling of sadness, you'll probably cry. An overwhelming amount of homework is almost impossible to get done. Adults who work, have families, and struggle to pay the bills feel like their lives are overwhelming. A tornado or hurricane is an overwhelming force of nature. When something is overwhelming, there's not much you can do against it.
Vocabulary lists containing overwhelming
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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.
Die Zeit said the response to the search engine has been "overwhelming".
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Its strategy, which has a narrow margin for error, depends on sustaining pressure without provoking overwhelming retaliation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
The months zoomed by, the primary drew nearer, and something genuinely surprising happened: Platner solidified himself as the overwhelming favorite for the nomination.
From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026
The Justice Department had built a case against Colony Ridge with “stark and overwhelming evidence,” Clarke told the news organizations.
From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026
Tears of overwhelming exhaustion and fear mixed with the joy of seeing her parents.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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.
