overwhelm

verb

ˌō-vər-ˈ(h)welm How to pronounce overwhelm (audio)
Definition of overwhelmnext
1
as in to overcome
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress just the thought of how much work there is to do overwhelms me

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to engulf
to cover with a flood that spring the massive runoff from melting snows overwhelmed the valley

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of overwhelm Rather than overwhelming the room with HR metrics, focus on the few measures and trends that matter to the decisions the board needs to make. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026 Four Israeli men teamed up to overwhelm an attacker and avert disaster. — David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026 Its goal would be to quickly overwhelm the American military, forcing it to pull back. — Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026 The sheer number of people and the late summer heat could have easily overwhelmed her, but she was doggedly focused. — Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for overwhelm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overwhelm
  1. overcome
  2. engulf
  3. devastate
  4. flood
  5. crush
  6. drown
Verb
  • However, the proposal faces a steep procedural obstacle in the Senate, where most legislation needs 60 votes to invoke cloture and overcome a filibuster.
    — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026
  • To overcome this, scientists are exploring optical wireless communication options that can complement radio frequencies.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of overcome
Verb
  • Video released Wednesday morning captured the moments when a Kansas City Police Department detective and a Clay County Sheriff’s deputy rescued a man from a pickup truck that was engulfed in flames.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
  • His moves have led to hopes of eventual stability in a country that was wracked by civil war and the Islamic State insurgency that engulfed northeast and western Iraq for years.
    — Matthew Lee, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of engulf
Verb
  • Pi-o wins the competition, but is devastated at the disappearance of his friend.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The goal, Ukrainian officials and military experts say, is to devastate Ukraine’s economy — and the country’s ability to sustain the war effort — while breaking the population’s will to fight by making everyday life increasingly difficult.
    — Constant Méheut, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of devastate
Verb
  • Nowhere was that fact clearer than after each concert in the casino where rivers of black Metallica T-shirts flooded the pit.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2026
  • But suddenly everything will change, and clouds will come in, and in 10 to 15 minutes, rain will start and flood everywhere.
    — William Earl, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of flood
Verb
  • This sees the star's core, with a mass between one and two times that of the sun, crush down to a width of around 12 miles (20 kilometers).
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Agrumato is a proprietary method of crushing whole ingredients with the olives to impart robust flavors.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of crush
Verb
  • Workers and employers are drowning in their health insurance premiums.
    — Bob Herman, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • And three, sometimes four, of those many waking hours are spent in the car — bouncing from home to school to her second or third job and home again — with music at full blast to drown out the babble of anxiety, most of it financial.
    — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of drown

Browse Nearby Words

overweights
overwhelm
overwhelmed
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Cite this Entry

“Overwhelm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overwhelm. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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