What does overwhelm mean?

Definitions for overwhelm
ˌoʊ vərˈʰwɛlm, -ˈwɛlmover·whelm

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word overwhelm.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. overwhelm, overpower, sweep over, whelm, overcome, overtakeverb

    overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli

  2. overwhelm, deluge, flood outverb

    charge someone with too many tasks

  3. submerge, drown, overwhelmverb

    cover completely or make imperceptible

    "I was drowned in work"; "The noise drowned out her speech"

  4. overpower, overmaster, overwhelmverb

    overcome by superior force

Wiktionary

  1. overwhelmverb

    To engulf, surge-over and submerge

    The dinghy was overwhelmed by the great wave.

  2. overwhelmverb

    To overpower, crush

    In December 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Finland with overwhelming force.

  3. overwhelmverb

    To overpower emotionally

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To Overwhelmverb

    Etymology: over and whelm.

    What age is this, where honest men,
    Plac’d at the helm,
    A sea of some foul mouth or pen,
    Shall overwhelm? Ben Jonson.

    Back do I toss these treasons to thy head,
    With the hell hated lie o’erwhelm thy heart. William Shakespeare.

    How trifling an apprehension is the shame of being laughed at by fools, when compared with that everlasting shame and astonishment which shall overwhelm the sinner, when he shall appear before the tribunal of Christ. John Rogers.

    Blind they rejoice, though now even now they fall;
    Death hastes amain; one hour o’erwhelms them all. Alexander Pope.

    Let the brow o’erwhelm it,
    As fearfully as doth a galled rock
    O’erhang and jutty his confounded base. William Shakespeare.

    An apothecary late I noted,
    In tatter’d weeds with overwhelming brows,
    Culling of simples. William Shakespeare, Rom. and Juliet.

ChatGPT

  1. overwhelm

    Overwhelm generally refers to having an extremely strong emotional effect whereby one feels completely overcome. It can also mean to give too much of a thing to someone or something, to the point that they cannot deal with it. Additionally, overwhelm can refer to the act of defeating someone or something by using a lot of force.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Overwhelm

    ō-vėr-hwelm′, v.t. to overspread and crush by something heavy or strong: to flow over and bear down: to overcome.—p.adj. Overwhel′ming, crushing with weight, &c.: irresistible.—adv. Overwhel′mingly.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. overwhelm

    A comprehensive word derived from the Ang.-Saxon wylm, a wave. Thus the old song-- "Lash'd to the helm, should seas o'erwhelm."

Editors Contribution

  1. Overwhelm

    To engulf from above; to overcome by surpassing a threshold, defeat; confuse, disorient &c. This verb is more an ablative than a measure

    Some of the inhabitants of Pompeii were overwhelmed by hot fumes that came down from the Mount Vesuvius eruption. At their level, there was no more cool or clean air


    Submitted by thesignaturesnice on April 19, 2020  

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of overwhelm in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of overwhelm in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of overwhelm in a Sentence

  1. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani:

    The result is that America has been secure, thank God, there's been no terrorist attack on mainland United States. We have been the front line. Meanwhile, what needs to be underlined is while tragedy brought us together, there are common interests that now can be articulated very clearly. The threats that we are facing on a daily basis, were they, God forbid, to overwhelm us, will threaten the world at large.

  2. Jeff Davidson:

    Considering all that competes for your time and attention, if you don’t actively take steps to simplify your life and carve out what I call “breathing space,” you will most certainly find yourself in a perpetual state of overwhelm.

  3. Shigeru Omi:

    We want to believe the omicron cases could be mild, but its fast-paced infections could quickly multiply the number of patients and could still overwhelm hospitals.

  4. Kirstjen Nielsen:

    The projections are dire, our capacity is already severely strained, but these increases will overwhelm the system entirely. This is not a' manufactured' crisis. This is truly an emergency.

  5. Jonathan Daniels:

    That in itself will just overwhelm the port facilities, you're not able to get the cargo off the ports when you consider the backlogs within the rail and the road network.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

overwhelm#10000#39035#100000

Translations for overwhelm

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"overwhelm." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/overwhelm>.

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