overwhelm
/,ouvə'welm/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To defeat or overcome completely by superior force or numbers: To overpower or crush someone or something, often through sheer quantity or intensity.
- To cover or bury completely, making something seem to disappear: To submerge or inundate, often to the point of obscuring.
- To give someone too much of something to handle, especially tasks or responsibilities: To burden excessively.
- To affect someone very strongly with a powerful emotion or sensation: To overcome emotionally or perceptually.
Usage and Examples
To defeat or overcome by force:
- The army was overwhelmed by the enemy's surprise attack.
- The home team overwhelmed their opponents with a score of 10-0.
To cover or bury completely:
- The small boat was overwhelmed by the massive wave.
- Floodwaters threatened to overwhelm the town's defenses.
To burden with too many tasks:
- Don't overwhelm the new intern with complex projects on her first day.
- I feel overwhelmed by my workload this week.
To affect with strong emotion:
- She was overwhelmed with gratitude for their support.
- The beauty of the symphony overwhelmed the audience, leaving many in tears.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
Passive Construction: Often used in the passive voice ("be overwhelmed by/with") to describe the state of being powerfully affected.
- He was overwhelmed by a sense of nostalgia when he visited his old school.
Figurative Use for Senses: Can describe a sensation that dominates others.
- The pungent smell of garlic overwhelmed the more subtle aromas in the dish.
Variants and Related Words
- Overwhelming (adjective): So strong or intense as to be overpowering.
- She felt overwhelming joy at the news.
- Overwhelmingly (adverb): To an overpowering degree.
- The proposal was overwhelmingly approved by the committee.
Synonyms
- Overpower: To overcome by superior strength.
- Inundate: To flood or overwhelm, often with things to do.
- Swamp: To overwhelm with an excessive amount.
- Crush: To defeat utterly.
- Bury: To cover completely; to overwhelm with work.
Antonyms
- Underwhelm: To fail to impress or make a positive impact (often humorous).
- Resist: To withstand the action or effect of.
- Manage: To handle or control a situation successfully.
Phrasal Verbs and Common Collocations
- Overwhelm with: The most common prepositional collocation.
- They overwhelmed us with kindness.
- I am overwhelmed with work.
Idiomatic Expressions
- To be overwhelmed: A common state describing feeling unable to cope due to strong emotions or excessive demands.
- After the funeral, she was simply overwhelmed and needed time alone.
- An overwhelming majority: A very large majority.
- The vote passed with an overwhelming majority.
Verb
- overcome by superior force
- cover completely or make imperceptible
- I was drowned in work
- The noise drowned out her speech
- charge someone with too many tasks
- overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli