Overwhelmed

How to spell overwhelmed

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce overwhelmed

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does overwhelmed mean?

1. adjectiveFeeling unable to cope because of too much work, emotion, or pressure.
2. verbPast tense of overwhelm: defeated, buried, or engulfed completely by a stronger force.

Overwhelmed in a sentence

• adjective

  She felt overwhelmed by the number of emails waiting after her holiday.

• verb

  The flood overwhelmed the village in less than an hour.

• adjective

  New parents are often overwhelmed during the first few weeks at home.

• verb

  The home side overwhelmed their rivals with four goals in the first half.

Where does overwhelmed come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word builds on the old English verb 'whelm', which came from the Middle English 'whelmen', meaning to turn upside down, to capsize, or to cover something completely as a wave covers what lies beneath it. To this was added the intensifying prefix 'over-', producing 'overwhelm' in the 1300s with the vivid sense of being completely submerged or buried, as a boat is when water pours over it. From that literal picture of water swamping something, the meaning broadened to cover being crushed or overpowered by a force, an army, or an emotion. The '-ed' ending forms both the past tense and the adjective describing someone who feels swamped. The original watery image is worth remembering for the spelling: keep the silent-sounding 'h' of 'whelm' that the wave once washed over.

How the word is built

• over- (over, completely)
• whelm (Middle English: to capsize, submerge, engulf)
• -ed (past tense / participle suffix)