overwhelmed
/ˌəʊ.vəˈwelmd/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌoʊ.vɚˈwelmd/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌō-vər-ˈ(h)welmd/ (ame, mw)
overwhelmed — adjective
- overwhelmedpositive
- more overwhelmedcomparative
- most overwhelmedsuperlative
1. feeling an extremely strong emotion such as shock, sadness, happiness, or gratit
feeling an extremely strong emotion such as shock, sadness, happiness, or gratitude, so that it is hard to think clearly or react calmly — for example, overwhelmed by grief at a funeral, or overwhelmed with joy after hearing good news.
When Allison saw her family waiting at the airport, she was overwhelmed with happiness.
overwhelmed + with + emotion noun
The young father felt overwhelmed by gratitude as the nurse handed him his newborn daughter.
overwhelmed + by + noun phrase (gratitude)
The president cried during the speech, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.
Gabriel was overwhelmed by shame when he realised he had forgotten his best friend's birthday.
The mother was overwhelmed with relief when rescuers pulled her child from the river.
- overcome
very similar, but 'overcome' can also mean 'successfully deal with'; 'overwhelmed' only describes the feeling of being affected strongly
- moved
less intense; suggests gentle emotional effect rather than extreme
- flooded
informal figurative use; suggests emotions arriving suddenly and in large quantity
- unmoved
feeling no emotional reaction at all
文法句型
be + overwhelmed + by/with + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often used in the passive voice (be/become/feel overwhelmed). Subject is usually a person capable of emotion. The preposition 'with' is more common for positive emotions (joy, gratitude, pride), while 'by' is neutral and works for both positive and negative emotions.
常見錯誤
2. having too much work, too many tasks, or more responsibilities than you can mana
having too much work, too many tasks, or more responsibilities than you can manage, often leading to stress or exhaustion — for example, a student overwhelmed by six final exams, or a new manager overwhelmed with budget reports.
Beatriz was overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork her new job required.
overwhelmed + by + amount of work
The night-shift nurse felt overwhelmed with patient files and medication schedules.
Hari's small bakery became overwhelmed during the holiday season and had to hire extra help.
Many first-year university students feel overwhelmed by the jump in workload from high school.
The IT team was overwhelmed with support requests after the system update failed.
- swamped
more informal and common in spoken British English
- snowed under
informal idiom, especially for paperwork and tasks
- stressed
focuses on the emotional result rather than the volume of work
- underworked
having too little to do
- free
having no pressing responsibilities
文法句型
be + overwhelmed + by/with + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often used for work or study contexts. The subject can be a person, a team, or an organisation. When the subject is an organisation (e.g. 'the hospital'), it means the people within it cannot cope with the volume of work.
常見錯誤
3. completely defeated or beaten by a person, team, army, or other group that is mu
completely defeated or beaten by a person, team, army, or other group that is much stronger or has far greater numbers — for example, a small army overwhelmed by a much larger force, or a basketball team overwhelmed by the defending champions.
The defending army was overwhelmed by the sudden attack from three directions.
passive: be overwhelmed by [military force]
Jabari's chess club was overwhelmed in the final match against the national champions.
The town's small police force was overwhelmed by the rioters and called for backup.
The home team was overwhelmed in the second half by faster and taller opponents.
The fire spread so quickly that the volunteer firefighters were overwhelmed before reinforcements arrived.
- victorious
having won the contest
- triumphant
having achieved a notable victory
文法句型
be + overwhelmed + by + noun phrase
用法筆記
This sense focuses on physical defeat or being outmatched by strength or numbers. It is less common in everyday conversation than senses 1 and 2, appearing more in news reports about battles, sports, or disasters.