overwhelming
Use Overwhelming in a sentence
vərˈʰwɛl 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
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 overwhelming
00:10
Overwhelming
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
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 |
| overwhelming (ˌəʊvəˈwɛlmɪŋ) | |
| —adj | |
| overpowering in effect, number, or force | |
| over'whelmingly | |
| —adv | |
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
The scene alone was awe inspiring, the sudden appearance of life in a setting of such overwhelming natural power was uplifting.
Look at the overwhelming evidence in the history of computing.
The threat of a real virus was overwhelming them, and they had nobody to track it.
Faculty serving contingently are the overwhelming majority of all faculty today.
Matching Quote
Related Searches
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
