Library / English Dictionary

OVERWHELM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Charge someone with too many tasks

Synonyms:

deluge; flood out; overwhelm

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "overwhelm" is one way to...):

burden; charge; saddle (impose a task upon, assign a responsibility to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Overcome by superior force

Synonyms:

overmaster; overpower; overwhelm

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "overwhelm" is one way to...):

beat; beat out; crush; shell; trounce; vanquish (come out better in a competition, race, or conflict)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "overwhelm"):

steamroll; steamroller (overwhelm by using great force)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The fighter managed to overwhelm his opponent

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cover completely or make imperceptible

Example:

The noise drowned out her speech

Synonyms:

drown; overwhelm; submerge

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "overwhelm" is one way to...):

cover; spread over (form a cover over)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli

Synonyms:

overcome; overpower; overtake; overwhelm; sweep over; whelm

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "overwhelm" is one way to...):

arouse; elicit; enkindle; evoke; fire; kindle; provoke; raise (call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "overwhelm"):

devastate (overwhelm or overpower)

clutch; get hold of; seize (affect)

kill (overwhelm with hilarity, pleasure, or admiration)

benight (overtake with darkness or night)

knock out (overwhelm with admiration)

stagger (astound or overwhelm, as with shock)

lock (hold fast (in a certain state))

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Credits

 Context examples: 

Why, then, should we ever sink overwhelmed with distress, when life is so soon over, and death is so certain an entrance to happiness—to glory?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"For me?" gasped Beth, holding onto Jo and feeling as if she should tumble down, it was such an overwhelming thing altogether.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“It would be a mistake to overwhelm one by attentions which are a pleasure to many.”

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

To try to control the thoughts, you feel an overwhelming urge to repeat certain rituals or behaviors.

(Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, NIH: National Institute of Mental Health)

But why should I dwell upon the incidents that followed this last overwhelming event?

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The overwhelming majority of pancreatic carcinomas are adenocarcinomas.

(Pancreatic Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Mr. Soames was somewhat overwhelmed by this flood of information.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The interstellar gas cannot be observed directly, as its radiation signature is overwhelmed by the accretion disk’s brightness.

(Astronomers Study How Quasars Are Powered by Accretion Disks, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

As many gardeners know, aphids can quickly overwhelm and kill the host plants on which they live and feed.

(Virus genes help determine if pea aphids get wings, National Science Foundation)

Caring for someone who has Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be stressful and overwhelming.

(Alzheimer's Caregivers, NIH: National Institute on Aging)