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
Example sentences :
  • 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

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019