overwhelming

[ oh-ver-hwel-ming, -wel- ]

adjective

1. that overwhelms; overpowering:

   The temptation to despair may become overwhelming.

2. so great as to render resistance or opposition useless:

   an overwhelming majority.

overwhelming

/ ˌəʊvəˈwɛlmɪŋ /

adjective

1. overpowering in effect, number, or force

Derived Forms

• ˌoverˈwhelmingly, adverb

Other Words From

• over·whelming·ly adverb
• over·whelming·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of overwhelming¹

First recorded in 1565–75; overwhelm + -ing ²

Example Sentences

South Africa are overwhelming favourites to inflict defeat on Wales, who have lost their past 11 Test matches.

From BBC

I’ve found that more overwhelming and humbling than being confronted with my own mortality.

From BBC

An overwhelming majority of Gabonese people have voted for a new constitution, military authorities say, in a move that marks a new phase for the country following last year's coup.

From BBC

On Nov. 5, voters approved a ballot measure to protect reproductive rights in the Maryland Constitution, by an overwhelming margin, preliminary results show.

From Salon

These feelings haven't been overwhelming because I never succumbed to the flight impulse.

From Salon

Related Words

• amazing
• astounding
• crushing
• devastating
• mind-boggling
• staggering
• stunning
• vast

Overwhelming Vs. Underwhelming

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.

Quiz yourself on overwhelming vs. underwhelming!

Should overwhelming or underwhelming be used in the following sentence?

I thought taking six classes in one semester would be _____, but I’ve been able to keep up pretty easily.