overwhelmed

adjective

over·​whelmed ˌō-vər-ˈ(h)welmd 

1

: overcome by force or numbers

Some jurisdictions are so overwhelmed that they are experimenting with routing school-children into specially designed courts that would keep first-time offenders from being saddled with an arrest record.

—Gary Fields and John R. Emshwiller

Only three Coast Guard rescue helicopters had managed to get into the air, and each was already overwhelmed by dozens of calls for help.

—Christopher Cooper and Robert Block

"We were overwhelmed," said John Robinson, the Rams' coach. "Clearly dominated."

—Paul Zimmerman

2

: completely overcome or overpowered by thought or feeling

When he first appeared in full regalia, I was overwhelmed.

—Jane Davison

Suddenly he felt overwhelmed by a wash of terror.

—Holly Black

He finds that the institutions that might compensate for what overwhelmed parents are unable to do are themselves undermined by stingy public policies.

—Lisbeth B. Schorr

Examples of overwhelmed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Eric was overwhelmed with Jaxon’s 24-hour care and weekly trips to San Jose that were threatening his sales job. —Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 7 May 2026

Satonica credited Burse with reviving Grady’s professional governance, noticing tired nurses and overwhelmed leaders. —Laura Berrios, AJC.com, 7 May 2026

Classrooms are over-crowded, and teachers are overwhelmed and too often devalued. —Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026

Nothing about the daily judgment educators use to steady an overwhelmed child, adapt a lesson, stoke critical thinking, de-escalate a conflict or help a student who comes to school hungry. —Randi Weingarten, Fortune, 6 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1