Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Overwhelmed |
OverwhelmedAdjective1. Rendered powerless especially by an excessive amount or profusion of something; "a desk flooded with applications"; "felt inundated with work"; "too much overcome to notice"; "a man engulfed by fear"; "swamped by work". 2. Decisively defeated in combat. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "overwhelmed" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references) |
Synonyms: OverwhelmedSynonyms: beaten (adj), conquered (adj), engulfed (adj), flooded (adj), inundated (adj), overcome (adj), overpowered (adj), overthrown (adj), routed (adj), swamped (adj), vanquished (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Failure | Aground, grounded, swamped, stranded, cast away, wrecked, foundered, capsized, shipwrecked, nonsuited; foiled; defeated; struck down, borne down, broken down; downtrodden; overborne, overwhelmed; all up with; ploughed, plowed, plucked. |
Subjection | Adjective: subject, dependent, subordinate; feudal, feudatory; in subjection to, under control; in leading strings, in harness; subjected, enslaved; Verb: constrained; downtrodden; overborne, overwhelmed; under the lash, on the hip, led by the nose, henpecked; the puppet of, the sport of, the plaything of; under one's orders, under one's command, under one's thumb; a slave to; at the mercy of; in the power of, in the hands of, in the clutches of; at the feet of; at one's beck and call; (obedient); liable; parasitical; stipendiary. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Overwhelmed |
| English words defined with "overwhelmed": Atlantean ♦ Demersion ♦ ecclesiasticism ♦ gratitude ♦ succumb ♦ To go under ♦ Up to the ears ♦ Woe-begone ♦ yield. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "overwhelmed": Actor and Actress ♦ Ullin ♦ Vultures. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | I know you can be under whelmed, and you can be overwhelmed, but can you ever just be, like, whelmed? (10 Things I Hate About You; writing credit: Karen McCullah Lutz; Kirsten Smith) | |
Lyrics | I'm overwhelmed with gratitude (Thank God I Found You; performing artist: 98 Degrees) Bad time to prevail, it overwhelmed me (I Cry; performing artist: Ja Rule) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
| ||
Music |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | The sobs she had been restraining with an effort overwhelmed he. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Public overwhelmed by political information. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | They are overwhelmed with the splendour of all that is immaculate and inaccessible. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | You may have fears or feel overwhelmed by your situation. (references) | |
Tumors develop when the surveillance system breaks down or is overwhelmed. (references) | ||
All too often, parents who conduct their own research are overwhelmed by the difficulty in finding and organizing information. (references) | ||
Business | In the past, HIRA was almost solely a representative body for health care insurers and was overwhelmed by cost-saving obligations. (references) | |
The high number of eligible beneficiaries, irregular government subsidies, poor management and a giant budget deficit have all overwhelmed PAMI's capacity to operate for years and have resulted in the poor financing of current services and inability to repay its service providers (doctors, clinics, labs, etc.). (references) | ||
However, over the last few years there have been signs that E&T institutions in Vietnam are failing to keep pace. They are being overwhelmed by the sheer number of students and workers in need of services and struggling to adapt both facilities and curriculum to the rapidly changing demands of an economy in transition and a workforce playing "catch-up" in one of the world's most competitive regions. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Colombia | Many displaced persons settle on the outskirts of Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena, where conditions are overcrowded and unsanitary, and smaller municipalities have been overwhelmed by the need for services. (references) |
Economic History | Nigeria | Nigeria's overwhelmed transportation infrastructure is a major constraint to development. (references) |
Hungary | While brand name recognition is important, it is a great challenge for U.S. firms to develop brand images and loyalty, as the market is overwhelmed by hundreds of new products. (references) | |
Human Rights | Guyana | It stated that the GPF is overwhelmed by criminal and politically induced lawlessness. (references) |
Minorities | Ghana | Security forces in the town, including the police and a platoon of soldiers, initially were overwhelmed by the scale of the violence, which included heavy exchanges of automatic weapons fire between members of the two ethnic groups. (references) |
Political Economy | HAITI | In the few cases where the government has attempted to control prices or supplies, its efforts were frequently undercut by contraband or overwhelmed by the sheer number of small retailers. (references) |
Trade | Canada | Canada's historical concern that its cultural identity may be overwhelmed by US influences has resulted in restrictions on foreign investment in Canadian cultural industries (broadcasting, publishing, etc.). At Canada's insistence, cultural industries were exempted from the provisions of the FTA and NAFTA. (references) |
Worker Rights | China | They fear that Tibet's traditional culture and ethnic Tibetan demographic dominance will be overwhelmed by such migration. (references) |
Colombia | In May Claudia Caceres, director of the protection program, stated that her office was overwhelmed by the increase in its caseload. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
James Monroe | 1817-1825 | Their cause and their name have protected them from dangers which might ere this have overwhelmed any other people. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Overwhelmed" is generally used as a lexical verb (past participle) -- approximately 74.44% of the time. "Overwhelmed" is used about 531 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (past participle) | 74.44% | 396 | 14,082 |
| Lexical Verb (past tense) | 23.31% | 124 | 28,785 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 2.07% | 11 | 106,044 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.19% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 531 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "overwhelmed": be overwhelmed ♦ overwhelmed with work. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
overwhelmed | 23 |
feeling overwhelmed | 3 |
done housework kid not overwhelmed toddler | 2 |
another chance felt one overwhelmed that time ve | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "overwhelmed"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 淹没 (Deluged, Deluging, Drown, Drowned, Drowning, Overwhelm, Overwhelming, submerge, submerged, submerging). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | musertua (be crushed, be overwhelmed, be struck all of a heap), menehtyä häpeästä (be overwhelmed with shame). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | assommés, assommées, assommée, assommé, assommâmes. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | überwältigte (overcame, overmastered, overpowered). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | τσακισμένος (shattered). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | nyakig van a munkában (to be overwhelmed with work), megrendül (to be overwhelmed), ki se látszik a munkából (to be overwhelmed with work). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | た"焼き (cringing, octopus dumplings, recoiling, to falter, to wince). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | たじたじ (cringing, recoiling). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 압도하". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | overwhelmeday copleşit (awestruck, overcome, prostrate wit grief), ajuns (agreed, made, overcome, reached, successful). (various references) överväldigad (be stunned), överhopad. (various references) mahçup olmak (be ashamed, be overwhelmed, feel small, lose face, squirm out of), kendini kaybetmek (be overwhelmed, blackout, fly off the handle, forget one's manners, lose consciousness, lose oneself), işe boğulmuş (overwhelmed with work), şaşkına dönmek (be baffled, be bewildered, be overwhelmed, be puzzled). (various references) gamaюmak (be dazed, be disgusted). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | cooperti, coopertum, coopertus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Isaiah Chapter 28, Verse 7 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Outoi gar oinw peplanhmenoi eisin eplanhqhsan dia to sikera iereuV kai profhthV exesthsan dia ton oinon eseisqhsan apo thV meqhV tou sikera eplanhqhsan tout' esti fasma |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Verum hii quoque prae vino nescierunt et prae ebrietate erraverunt sacerdos et propheta nescierunt prae ebrietate absorti sunt a vino erraverunt in ebrietate nescierunt videntem ignoraverunt iudicium |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | `These also for wyn knewen not treuthe, and for drunkenesse thei erreden; preest and profete knewen not for drunkenesse; thei ben sopen awei of wyn, thei erreden in drunkenesse; thei knewe not the seere, thei vnknewe dom. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are overwhelmed with wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And further, these are uncertain through wine, and have gone out of the right way through strong drink: the priest and the prophet are uncertain through strong drink, they are overcome by wine, they have gone out of the way through strong drink; their vision is false, they go wrong in their decisions. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Isaiah Chapter 28, Verse 7 |
| Cebuano | Ug bisan pa kini sila nagatangotango tungod sa vino ug nagasamparay tungod sa maisug nga ilimnon: ang sacerdote ug ang manalagna nagatangotango tungod sa maisug nga ilimnon, sila gipanaglamoy sa vino, sila nagasamparay tungod sa maisug nga ilimnon; sila nangasayup sa panan-aw, sila nanghipangdol sa paghukom. |
| Croatian | Oni posræu od vina, teturaju od žestoka piæa: sveæenici i proroci od žestoka piæa posræu; omami ih vino; teturaju od žestoka piæa, posræu u viðenjima, ljuljaju se sudeæi. |
| Danish | Også disse raver af Vin, er svimle af Drik, Præst og Profet, de raver af Drik, fra Samling af Vin og svimle af Drik; de raver under Syner, vakler, når de dømmer. |
| Dutch | En ook dwalen dezen van den wijn, en zij dolen van den sterken drank; de priester en de profeet dwalen van den sterken drank; zij zijn verslonden van den wijn, zij dolen van sterken drank; zij dwalen in het gezicht; zij waggelen in het gericht. |
| Finnish | Ja nämäkin horjuvat viinistä ja hoipertelevat väkijuomasta. Väkijuomasta horjuu pappi ja profeetta; he ovat sekaisin viinistä, hoipertelevat väkijuomasta. He horjuvat näyissä, huojuvat tuomioissa. |
| French | Mais eux aussi, ils chancellent dans le vin, Et les boissons fortes leur donnent des vertiges; Sacrificateurs et prophètes chancellent dans les boissons fortes, Ils sont absorbés par le vin, Ils ont des vertiges cause des boissons fortes; Ils chancellent en prophétisant, Ils vacillent en rendant la justice. |
| German | Aber auch diese sind vom Wein toll geworden und taumeln von starkem Getränk. Beide, Priester und Propheten, sind toll von starkem Getränk, sind in Wein ersoffen und taumeln von starkem Getränk; sie sind toll beim Weissagen und wanken beim Rechtsprechen. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Juga nabi-nabi dan imam-imam mabuk karena terlalu banyak minum anggur dan arak. Mereka berjalan terhuyung-huyung dan tersandung-sandung karena pikiran mereka kacau. Nabi-nabi tak dapat lagi memahami penglihatan-penglihatan yang diberikan Allah kepada mereka. Imam-imam tak dapat lagi memutuskan perkara-perkara yang dihadapkan kepada mereka. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Tetapi ini juga sesat dalam air anggur dan berpusing-pusing dalam minuman yang keras, jikalau imam dan nabi sekalipun sesat dalam minuman keras, mereka itu sekalian teracap oleh air anggur, mereka itu berpusing-pusing oleh minuman yang keras, mereka itu sesat dalam khayal, mereka itu terhuyung-huyung dalam pehukuman. |
| Italian | Anche costoro barcollano per il vino, vanno fuori strada per le bevande inebrianti. Sacerdoti e profeti barcollano per la bevanda inebriante, affogano nel vino; vanno fuori strada per le bevande inebrianti, s'ingannano mentre hanno visioni, dondolano quando fanno da giudici. |
| Maori | Otiia kua pohehe ano enei i te waina, a kua kototi ke i te wai kaha; ko te tohunga, ko te poropiti, kua pohehe i te wai kaha, kua horomia raua e te waina, a kua kotiti ke i te wai kaha; he titiro he ta raua, e tapepa ana ta raua whakawa. |
| Norwegian | Men også de som er her*, raver av vin og tumler av sterk drikk; prest og profet raver av sterk drikk, er overveldet av vin, tumler av sterk drikk; de raver i sine syner, vakler i sine dommer; # <* Judas førere.> |
| Portuguese | Mas também estes cambaleiam por causa do vinho, e com a bebida forte se desencaminham; até o sacerdote e o profeta cambaleiam por causa da bebida forte, estão tontos do vinho, desencaminham-se por causa da bebida forte; erram na visão, e tropeçam no juizo. |
| Rumanian | Dar wi ei, se clatinq de vin, wi bquturile tari ki ameyesc; preoyi wi prooroci sknt kmbqtayi de bquturi tari, sknt stqpkniyi de vin, au ameyeli din pricina bquturilor tari; se clatinq cknd proorocesc, se poticnesc cknd judecq. |
| Russian | оП Й ЬФЙ ЫБФБАФУС ПФ ЧЙОБ Й У'ЙЧБАФУС У ХФЙ ПФ УЙЛЕТЩ; УЧСЭЕООЙЛ Й ТПТПЛ У ПФЩЛБАФУС ПФ ЛТЕ ЛЙИ ОБ ЙФЛПЧ; П'ЕЦ"ЕОЩЧЙОПН, П'ЕЪХНЕМЙ ПФ УЙЛЕТЩ, Ч ЧЙ"ЕОЙЙ ПЫЙ'БАФУС, Ч УХЦ"ЕОЙЙУ ПФЩЛБАФУС. |
| Swedish | Men också här raglar man av vin, stapplar man av starka drycker; både präster och profeter ragla av starka drycker, de äro överlastade av vin, de stappla av starka drycker; de ragla, när de profetera, de vackla, när de skipa rätt. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Misspellings | |
"Overwhelmed" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: overhelmed, overwelhmed, overwelmed, overwhelme, overwhelmned. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "overwhelmed" (pronounced ō'verwe"lmd or ō'verhwe"lmd) |
| 3 | -l m d | filmed. |
| 3 | -l m d | filmed. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "d-e-e-e-h-l-m-o-r-v-w" | |
-2 letters: overwhelm. | |
-3 letters: overheld, overlewd, wheedler, whomever. | |
-4 letters: eelworm, homered, hoveled, hovered, however, levered, lowered, modeler, remodel, removed, reveled, roweled, wheedle, wheeled, wheeler, whelmed, whoever, whorled. | |
-5 letters: delver, deworm, emerod, heeder, heeled, heeler, helmed, helved, holder, howled, howler, leered, leveed, lewder, melder, meowed, mewled, mewler, molder, overed, redeem, reeled, reeved, reheel, releve, remold, remove, reweld. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)4F 76 65 72 77 68 65 6C 6D 65 64 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
|
| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
|
| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
|
| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
|
Morse Code (1836) (references)--- ...- . .-. .--. .... . .-.. -- . -.. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
|
Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01001111 01110110 01100101 01110010 01110111 01101000 01100101 01101100 01101101 01100101 01100100 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)O v e r w h e l m e d |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)004F 0076 0065 0072 0077 0068 0065 006C 006D 0065 0064 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
|
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)4988718489747178797170 |
| Language | Coverage | Language Translations |
Chinese | 字典 , 定義 , 定义, 翻译 | 汉语, 中 , 漢 , 中國 , kiinalainen, Chinois, Chinesisch, Κινέζος, κινέζικα, κινέζικοσ, κινέζοσ, σινικόσ, kínai, チフス菌 , チャイニーズ , 중국, chinezesc, chinezeşte, chinezã, chinez, kinesisk, çinli, çince, çin ile ilgili, çin |
Finnish | määritelmä, translaatio, taajuusmuutos | 芬蘭語 , 芬兰语, suomi, suomalainen, finnois, Finlandaise, finlandais, finnisch, φινλανδικόσ, finn, 핀란", finlandezã, finsk, fince, finlandiya'ya özgü |
French | dictionnaire, définition, traduction | 法國 , 法文 , 法語 , 法语, ranskalainen, français, französisch, γαλλικόσ, γαλλική γλώσσα, γαλλίδα, γάλλοσ, francia, フレコン化 , 仏文 , フランス" , 仏 , ふつぶ", ふつ, フレンチ , フランセ , "랑스, francezii, franţuzesc, francezã, francez, franţuzeşte, fransk, franska, fransızca, fransız, Fransiz, fransızca ile ilgili, fransa ile ilgili |
German | Übersetzung, Wörterbuch, Definition | 德语, 德國 , 德文 , 德語 , saksalainen, allemand, "ερμανός, német, ジプシー音楽 , ジャーマン , 독일, neamţ, tysk, alman |
Greek | λεξικό, ορισμός, μετάφραση | 希腊语, 希臘語 , kreikkalainen, grec, grieche, ελληνικόσ, 'Ελληνας, görög, ギリシア語 , ギリシア", 그리스, greacã, grek, yunanistan'a ait, yunanca, yunan, Yunanli, yunanlı, Rumca, rum |
Hungarian | szótár, meghatározás, definíció, fordítás | 匈牙利语, 匈牙利語 , unkarilainen, hongrois, Ungar, Ούγγρος, magyar, 헝가리, unguresc, limba ungarã, limba maghiarã, ungureşte, ungur, maghiar, ungrare, macarca, macar |
Japanese Kanji | 辭典 , 辞典 , 字引 , 辞林 , 字書 , ディーゼル電気車 , 言海 , 辞彙 , 辞書 , 確定 , ディーゼル電気車 , デ'ドロ酢酸 , 翻訳 | 日語 , 日语, 日本 , 日文 , 倭 , japanilainen, Japonais, japaner, japanisch, ιαπωνικόσ, Ιάπωνας· "ιαπωνέζος, ιάπωνεσ, ιάπων, ιαπωνικά, japán, 邦語 , 邦人 , ジャスミン茶 , ほう", ジャパニーズ , ほうじ", 일본, japonezã, japansk, Japonca |
Japanese Katakana | じい, じびき, じて", ディクショナリー , じり", じしょ, '"かい, ディクショナリ , デフィニション , ディフィニション , ていぎ, かくてい, へい"ういどう, やくじゅつ, トランスレーション , やくしょ, やくしゅつ, "うどく, ほ"やく, ほ"やくしょ | 日語 , 日语, 日本 , 日文 , 倭 , japanilainen, Japonais, japaner, japanisch, ιαπωνικόσ, Ιάπωνας· "ιαπωνέζος, ιάπωνεσ, ιάπων, ιαπωνικά, japán, 邦語 , 邦人 , ジャスミン茶 , ほう", ジャパニーズ , ほうじ", 일본, japonezã, japansk, Japonca |
Korean | 사 , 의, 번역 | 韩国语, "國 , 朝鮮語 , coréen, koreanisch, Koreaner, κορεάτικοσ, κορεάτησ, koreai, 한국, limba coreeanã, coreean, koreansk, kore'li |
Romanian | dicţionar, definiţie, determinare, definire, translaţie, traducere, tãlmãcire | 罗马尼亚语, romanialainen, Roumain, rumäne, ρουμανόσ, Ρουμάνος, román, 루마니아, român, rumänsk |
Swedish | ordbok, lexikon, översättning | 瑞典語 , 瑞典语, ruotsalainen, suédois, schwedisch, σουηδικόσ, σουηδικά, svéd, スウェーデン語 , スウェーデン", 스웨덴, svensk, isveççe, isveç dili, isveç, Ísveçlí |
Turkish | sözlük, ansiklopedik sözlük, açıklama, belirleme, belirtme, kesinleştirme, tanım, tarif, seçiklik, tanımlama, tercüme | 土耳其語 , 土耳其, turkkilainen, turque, türkisch, τούρκικοσ, török, turcesc, turc, turkisk, türkçe, türk |
Turkmen | turkmenistanilainen, Turkmène, Turkmenin, Turkmene, Τουρκομάνος, turkmenistanier | |
English | Dictionary, Definition, Translation | 英语, 英國 , 英文 , 英 , 英語 , englantia, englantilainen, anglais, englisch, εγγλέζοσ, αγγλικόσ, angol, 영국, englezesc, engelsk, ingiltere, ingiliz, Íngílízce, ingilizce, Íngílíz, ýngilizce |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Quotations: Speeches 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Bible Trace | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Orthography | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
