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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

overwhelm

/ˌoʊ.vɚˈ(h)wɛlm/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
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What does overwhelm mean?

verb

  1. To engulf, surge over and submerge.
  2. To overpower, crush.
  3. To overpower emotionally.
More meanings (2)

verb

  1. To cause to surround, to cover.

noun

  1. The state or condition of being overwhelmed.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˌoʊ.vɚˈ(h)wɛlm/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

“And I haven't the key--and, besides, the organ is too heavy and severe for an invalid. It would overwhelm you tonight.”
Harold FredericThe Damnation of Theron WareProject Gutenberg ebook #133
More than anything she feared lest the confusion she felt might overwhelm her and betray her as soon as she saw him.
Leo, graf TolstoyWar and PeaceTranslated by Aylmer Maude; Louise MaudeProject Gutenberg ebook #2600
More book examples (3)
"You were intended for all this," he adds, "as, if you do not win over your public, you can at least overwhelm it."
René DoumicGeorge Sand: Some Aspects of Her Life and WritingsTranslated by Alys HallardProject Gutenberg ebook #138
There have been men, whose virtues may well redeem all the contempt with which satire and detraction have sought to overwhelm our species.
William GodwinThoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions and Discoveries Interspersed with Some Particulars Respecting the AuthorProject Gutenberg ebook #743
But the great fact was the land itself, which seemed to overwhelm the little beginnings of human society that struggled in its sombre wastes.
Willa CatherO Pioneers!Project Gutenberg ebook #24