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
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.
The overwhelming majority who stayed put, and showed up for work the next day, didn’t make the headlines.
We may think that we’re entirely rational when making portfolio moves, but the odds are overwhelming that our emotions are running the show.
From MarketWatch
After all, the trajectory of most rock bands follows a similar script—the hungry rise, the overwhelming success, the perils of stardom—followed by breakups, feuds, recoveries and reunions.
Iran uses low-cost Shahed drones that it can deploy at an overwhelming scale.
From Barron's
An overwhelming mix of shame, guilt and love wash over me like a giant wave.
From Literature
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.
