as in overwhelmed
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress
the news so whelmed them that they were stunned into silence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Walt Disney Imagineering updated the storyline of Black Widow Bride Constance Hatchway earlier this year by turning her from an axe murderer who beheads her wealthy husbands into a more mournful figure overwhelmed by the dread of lost love.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
13 Oct. 2025
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He had been captivated by the high-intensity football Marcelo Bielsa had implemented at Athletic Club, a style that had overwhelmed Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United en route to the Europa League final that year.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Schools, hospitals, as well as water and electricity infrastructure have all been devastated during the two-year war from Israel’s extensive military campaign on the Gaza Strip, Amr said.—
Nadine El-Bawab,
ABC News,
18 Oct. 2025
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Her tour of the affected states contrasted with the response taken by her predecessor and mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, when Hurricane Otis devastated Mexico’s Pacific Coast in 2023.—
Cristopher Rogel Blanquet,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whelmed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whelmed. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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