overwhelm
Use Overwhelm in a sentence
vərˈʰwɛlm, -ˈwɛlm verb (used with object)
1.
to overcome completely in mind or feeling: overwhelmed by remorse.
2.
to overpower or overcome, especially with superior forces; destroy; crush: Roman troops were overwhelmed by barbarians.
3.
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.
4.
to load, heap, treat, or address with an overpowering or excessive amount of anything: a child overwhelmed with presents; to overwhelm someone with questions.
5.
to overthrow.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To overwhelm
00:10
Overwhelm
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to flee; abscond: |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
overwhelm (ˌəʊvəˈwɛlm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to overpower the thoughts, emotions, or senses of |
| 2. | to overcome with irresistible force |
| 3. | to overcome, as with a profusion or concentration of something |
| 4. | to cover over or bury completely |
| 5. | to weigh or rest upon overpoweringly |
| 6. | archaic to overturn |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
overwhelm
early 14c., "to turn upside down, to overthrow," from over + M.E. whelmen "to turn upside down" (see whelm). Meaning "to submerge completely" is mid-15c. Perhaps the connecting notion is a boat, etc., washed over, and overset, by a big wave. Figurative sense of "to bring to
ruin" is attested from 1520s. Related: Overwhelming; overwhelmingly.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Potentially dangerous mold blooms can quickly overwhelm water-soaked structures.
Grows extremely fast and, once established, can overwhelm trees if permitted to climb into them more add to my plant list enlarge.
One would expect the increasing second derivative to overwhelm noise in a given decade.
But there are certain anti-stimuli that overwhelm even my well-honed capacity for fascination.
Matching Quote
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
