overwhelm

(ō'vər-hwĕlm', -wĕlm')
tr.v., -whelmed, -whelm·ing, -whelms.

1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline.
2. 1. To defeat completely and decisively: Our team overwhelmed the visitors by 40 points.
   2. To affect deeply in mind or emotion: Despair overwhelmed me.
3. To present with an excessive amount: They overwhelmed us with expensive gifts.
4. To turn over; upset: The small craft was overwhelmed by the enormous waves.

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verb

1. To flow over completely: deluge, drown, engulf, flood, flush, inundate, overflow, submerge, whelm. See full/empty/capacity.
2. To render totally ineffective by decisive defeat: annihilate, crush, drub, overpower, smash, steamroller, thrash, trounce, vanquish. Informal massacre, wallop. Slang clobber, cream, shellac, smear. See win/lose/recovery.
3. To affect deeply or completely, as with emotion: crush, engulf, overcome, overpower, prostrate. See affect/ineffectiveness.
4. To impair severely something such as the spirit, health, or effectiveness of: break, crush, destroy, ruin. See help/harm/harmless.
5. To affect as if by an outpouring of water: deluge, flood, inundate, swamp, whelm. See full/empty/capacity.

v

Definition: astonish, devastate
Antonyms: not impress, underwhelm

v

Definition: flood, beat physically
Antonyms: underwhelm

IN BRIEF: To completely engulf.

In no time at all their picnic lunch was overwhelmed with ants.

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sign description: Both hands move over the head as the head tips back.

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For a list of words related to overwhelm, see:

• Violent Actions - overwhelm: oppress or overpower

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See words rhyming with "overwhelm."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Overwhelm.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - vælte ud over, oversvømme, overvælde, overmande

Nederlands (Dutch)
overweldigen, overmannen, bedelven, overstelpen

Français (French)
v. tr. - (lit) submerger, inonder, écraser (un ennemi), (fig) submerger, envahir (par un sentiment), accabler (de travail, par le malheur), combler (de gentillesse)

Deutsch (German)
v. - verschütten, überschwemmen, überfluten, überwältigen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - κατακλύζω, καταβάλλω, τσακίζω, κατανικώ, κατατροπώνω, κατακυριεύω, συγκλονίζω, συναρπάζω

Italiano (Italian)
sommergere, sopraffare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - soterrar, engolfar, esmagar

Русский (Russian)
осыпать, подавлять, переполнять

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - colmar, agobiar, inundar, sumergir, abrumar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - tynga ner, förkrossa, överväldiga, täcka, begrava

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
战胜, 压倒, 征服, 覆盖

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 戰勝, 壓倒, 征服, 覆蓋

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 압도하다, 전복시키다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 圧倒する, 打ち勝つ, 打ちのめす, 覆う, 沈める

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يغمر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הימם, הציף, מחץ, גבר, הכניע, הכריע, כיסה‬

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