as in overwhelmed
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress
the news so whelmed them that they were stunned into silence
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of whelmed
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war.
—
Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 10 Sep. 2025
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war.
—Kaycee Sloan, The Enquirer, 21 Aug. 2025
Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 10 Sep. 2025
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war.
—Kaycee Sloan, The Enquirer, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whelmed
Verb
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The flood of people overwhelmed Bajo Chiquito, an impoverished community of 382 members of the Indigenous Emberá-Wounaan people.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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Food banks nationwide are overwhelmed by surging demand, with long lines and limited supplies.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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After it was revealed that Vince didn't make it out of the inferno, his son Bode (Max Thieriot) and wife Sharon (Diane Farr) were devastated by the loss.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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The war has devastated parts of Ukraine’s medical infrastructure.—
Ciara McCarthy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whelmed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whelmed. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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