Antonyms for overwhelm
| Grammar : Verb |
| Spell : oh-ver-hwelm, -welm |
| Phonetic Transcription : ˌoʊ vərˈʰwɛlm, -ˈwɛlm |
Definition of overwhelm
Origin :- early 14c., "to turn upside down, to overthrow," from over- + Middle English whelmen "to turn upside down" (see whelm). Meaning "to submerge completely" is mid-15c. Perhaps the connecting notion is a boat, etc., washed over, and overset, by a big wave. Figurative sense of "to bring to ruin" is attested from 1520s. Related: Overwhelmed; overwhelming; overwhelmingly.
- verb flood, beat physically
- verb astonish, devastate
- As for Garson, once again the surge of feeling threatened to overwhelm his self-control.
- Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana
- His intention was not to overwhelm his wife with bitter reproaches.
- Extract from : « The Secret Agent » by Joseph Conrad
- Powerful tribes, like the Romans, Saxons and Normans, have tried to overwhelm them.
- Extract from : « Welsh Fairy Tales » by William Elliott Griffis
- We should indeed survey and prepare for danger, but we should never suffer it to overwhelm us.
- Extract from : « Imogen » by William Godwin
- The mud of those greasy streets had risen up all around to overwhelm him!
- Extract from : « The Fat and the Thin » by Emile Zola
- Wonder if this is the dreadful storm that is to overwhelm the nation, don't you know!
- Extract from : « The Christian » by Hall Caine
- For a world that at the first check or stumble will overwhelm me with slanders.
- Extract from : « Davenport Dunn, Volume 1 (of 2) » by Charles James Lever
- The room fairly swarmed with them, and they seemed likely to overwhelm him.
- Extract from : « Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete » by Albert Bigelow Paine
- We can overwhelm them with arguments for woman suffrage—with Biblical arguments.
- Extract from : « The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV » by Various
- She sat down on the bed, and began to overwhelm me with apologies.
- Extract from : « The Memoires of Casanova, Complete » by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
Synonyms for overwhelm
- bewilder
- blow out of the water
- bowl over
- bury
- confound
- confuse
- conquer
- crush
- defeat
- deluge
- demoralize
- destroy
- disturb
- do in
- downgrade
- drown
- drub
- dumbfound
- engulf
- floor
- inundate
- kill
- massacre
- overcome
- overflow
- overpower
- overrun
- overthrow
- prostrate
- puzzle
- render speechless
- rout
- run circles around
- shatter
- shock
- smother
- stagger
- steamroller
- stun
- submerge
- subordinate
- surprise
- swamp
- thrash
- total
- upset
- whip
- win
- wreck
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019