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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Recent Examples of whelmed
Of all the underwhelming parts of this underwhelming finale of an underwhelming season, the final immunity challenge did not leave me whelmed.
—
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 18 Dec. 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, 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
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 18 Dec. 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, 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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One video from the scene showed a police officer overwhelmed by the crowd, and using pepper spray to control the mob.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
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That experience lead her to create Reale Actives, in hopes of making the treatment both aesthetically nicer than a lot of what's on the market, as well as simpler for those overwhelmed by all the treatment options.—
Beth Shapouri,
PEOPLE,
17 May 2026
Verb
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Fuel and fertilizer needed for the rice crop are just the latest necessities to become unaffordable in Rakhine state, which has been devastated by intense fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), one of the many rebel groups in the country.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
16 May 2026
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Authorities discovered the bodies of a man who worked for Henry County, a woman and an infant in a McDonough home on Tuesday night, leaving the woman’s family devastated and the man’s coworkers within the county’s Department of Transportation stunned.—
Reed Williams,
AJC.com,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Whelmed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whelmed. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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