overwhelm
/ˌəʊ.vəˈ(h)wɛlm/US/ˌoʊ.vɚˈ(h)wɛlm/
overwhelm verb: to engulf, surge over and submerge.
Verb
overwhelm (third-person singular simple present overwhelms, present participle overwhelming, simple past and past participle overwhelmed)
- To engulf, surge over and submerge.
- The dinghy was overwhelmed by the great wave.
- Synonyms:
- swamp
- To overpower, crush.
- In December 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Finland with overwhelming force.
- The sea overwhelmed their enemies.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 78:53
- To overpower emotionally.
- He was overwhelmed with guilt.
- Joy overwhelmed her when she realized that she had won a million dollars.
- To cause to surround, to cover.
- I lay Turpentine all over the same: then I overwhelm a broader pipe about the first1684, Denis Papin, Instrument to make turpentine penetrate plaster and wood using the airpump
Noun
overwhelm (countable and uncountable, plural overwhelms)
- The state or condition of being overwhelmed.
- If you beat your opponent by a margin of 5 or more, you have Overwhelmingly Succeeded. This type of success is often simply called an Overwhelm. […] An overwhelm means you've not only succeeded, but you've done something better than the average success would be.1999, Jason Holmgren, Ironclaw
- The fact is, that full permeation and understanding of an overwhelm or trauma makes it cease as an overwhelm or trauma.2015, Rolf Dane, Deep Clearing, Releasing the Power of Your Mind
- Synonyms:
- overwhelmedness, overwhelmment
overwhelm meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
overwhelm in Hindi
- engulf, surge over
- अभिभूत abhibhūt
- to overpower, crush
- अभिभूत abhibhūt
overwhelm in Tamil
- ஆழ்த்து, அமுக்கு, ஆழ்ந்துபோ, அமுந்து போ, மீறு, பொங்கு
overwhelm in Urdu
- غلبہ کرنا, مجبور کر دینا
overwhelm in Bengali
- অভিভূত করা, পর্যুদস্ত করা, প্লাবিত করা
More languagesFewer languages
- overwhelm in Malayalam
- ആഴ്ത്തുക, മുക്കിക്കിടത്തുക, പൂർണ്ണമായി കീഴടക്കുക
- overwhelm in Kannada
- ಸದೆಬಡಿ, ಧ್ವಂಸಮಾಡು, ವಿನಾಶಗೊಳಿಸು, ಸೋಲಿಸು
- overwhelm in Odia
- ଅଭିଭୂତ abhibhuta
- overwhelm in Sanskrit
- अभिभूत abhibhūta
- overwhelm in Arabic
- اِسْتَبَدَّ istabadda
- overwhelm in Malay
- tenggelam, mengalahkan, terharu
Examples of overwhelm in a sentence
- But Theon is overwhelmed by the violence all around him, and instead he jumps overboard.2017 July 23, Brandon Nowalk, “The great game begins with a bang on Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:
- And what you’re feeling is normal in a dangerous situation — overwhelm and guilt when someone is harmed.2021, Star Trek: Discovery, “Stormy Weather”, season 4, episode 6, spoken by Michael Burnham:
Synonyms of overwhelm
Antonyms
Forms of overwhelm
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | overwhelms |
| present participle | overwhelming |
| past participle | overwhelmed |
| past | overwhelmed |
| alternative poetic | o'erwhelm |
| Noun | |
| plural | overwhelms |
Origin of overwhelm
Inherited from Middle English overwhelmen, equivalent to over- + whelm.
Words formed from overwhelm
Words that rhyme with overwhelm
Questions about overwhelm
- What does overwhelm mean?
- Overwhelm means to engulf, surge over and submerge.
- What is overwhelm in Hindi?
- Overwhelm in Hindi is अभिभूत (abhibhūt). See Overwhelm meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use overwhelm in a sentence?
- But Theon is overwhelmed by the violence all around him, and instead he jumps overboard.
- What part of speech is overwhelm?
- Overwhelm can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce overwhelm?
- Overwhelm is pronounced /ˌəʊ.vəˈ(h)wɛlm/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of overwhelm?
- The past tense of overwhelm is overwhelmed.
Words near overwhelm in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: overwhelm (page history and authors); overwhelm (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); overwhelm (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Overwhelm (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); overwhelm (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); overwhelm (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-overwhelm.wav.
Cite this entry: “overwhelm.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/overwhelm. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.