overwhelm
to overcome completely in mind or feeling: overwhelmed by remorse.
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.
to load, heap, treat, or address with an overpowering or excessive amount of anything: a child overwhelmed with presents; to overwhelm someone with questions.
to overthrow.
Origin of overwhelm
1Words Nearby overwhelm
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use overwhelm in a sentence
This could help groups deal with those whose behavior is often flagged, but it could also overwhelm groups with a large number of users.
The uptick in mail votes threatens to overwhelm the cash-strapped Postal Service, which recently warned that some state absentee ballot deadlines may not allow for enough time for ballots to be delivered and counted.
ProPublica’s Pandemic Guide to Making Sure Your Vote Counts | by Susie Armitage | September 16, 2020 | ProPublicaTwo years ago, the left badly underestimated what it would take to beat Carper, as a surge of suburban turnout overwhelmed Harris's 29,406 votes — thousands more than her campaign thought she needed.
As outbreaks overwhelmed hospitals in April, pressure from local public officials grew, leading to the rapid-fire closures of some of the nation’s largest slaughterhouses.
Emails Show the Meatpacking Industry Drafted an Executive Order to Keep Plants Open | by Michael Grabell and Bernice Yeung | September 14, 2020 | ProPublicaOnce they make their way in, these hues, with their longer wavelengths, overwhelm the sky.
How raging wildfires create a hellish red sky | Sara Kiley Watson | September 10, 2020 | Popular-Science
That was the last time the band allowed tepid performances and overwrought production overwhelm an otherwise solid set of songs.
U2 Generously Gives Us a Lousy Album, Sucks at the Corporate Teat | Hampton Stevens | September 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe used his strength to overwhelm defenders but he also had nifty footwork, soft hands, and was a beautiful passer.
Everywhere around you and inside you are possibilities you must always keep open, yet never let overwhelm you.
Big Business Bullies Americans into the Machinery of Common Core | James Poulos | March 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLike all barbiturates, it can overwhelm alertness to the point of stopping the urge to breathe.
On the negative side, the sheer tonnage of opinions can overwhelm and cause a degree of amnesia.
Not infrequently these occasional waves are great enough to overwhelm persons who are upon the rocks next the shore.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerWill its shadow so overwhelm the rest that her naturally pure spirit will shrink from me just at the moment when I think her mine?
The Circular Study | Anna Katharine GreenPerhaps it is always thus when circumstances arise which overwhelm the human being.
Catherine de' Medici | Honore de BalzacAs Michael mentally repeated the thunderous English line, a surge of melancholy caught him up to overwhelm his thoughts.
Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton MackenzieIt swept down on the Three Sisters as if seeking to overwhelm them.
Frank Merriwell's Pursuit | Burt L. Standish
British Dictionary definitions for overwhelm
/ (ˌəʊvəˈwɛlm) /
to overpower the thoughts, emotions, or senses of
to overcome with irresistible force
to overcome, as with a profusion or concentration of something
to cover over or bury completely
to weigh or rest upon overpoweringly
archaic to overturn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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