to overcome

Examples

• All

• When he was suddenly overcome by anger, he was not sure why.

  Fiction book (1992)

• After the heartfelt speech, many audience members were overcome with emotion and wiped away tears.

• And I was, I was overcome by that offer.

• O, how do you overcome the fear of making things better?

• The draw of the street was too powerful, and he was overcome by its force.

  Academic text (1992)

• Those are the moments that truly overcome me with joy and peace.

  ConnorFranta

• When I completed that brief inventory and discovered no bullet, I was overcome with a feeling of relief.

  Academic text (2011)

• If you let yourself be overcome by sorrow, you will drown in it.

  12 Years a Slave (2013)

• He thought of his wife and children... and was suddenly overcome with a great longing for them.

  The Householder (1963)

• I don't think I've overcome loss any more than I've overcome fear.

Synonyms

O

to overwhelm

vsto overcome

193 4.4

Make someone feel very strong emotions so they cannot think clearly

is the general state of being strongly affected and beyond control

O

to overtake

vsto overcome

22 5.1

To suddenly have a strong feeling that you cannot control

is broader and does not require suddenness of the feeling

S

to sweep away

vsto overcome

11 4.6

To feel very strong emotions that you cannot control

is the neutral experience of being strongly affected not specifically acting on it

S

to sweep over

vsto overcome

6 4.6

A strong feeling that affects someone suddenly

is similar but may occur more slowly or persistently rather than sudden

W

to whelm

vsto overcome

2 9.9

To feel a very strong emotion that takes control of you

is the everyday description of being strongly affected without physical force focus

O

to overpower

vsto overcome

1 5.7

To feel unable to think and act because of a very strong feeling such as fear or a strong smell

focuses on the state of being affected rather than the loss of thought process

G

to get the best of

vsto overcome

1 4.6

To be overcome by something like tiredness, strong feelings, or problems

refers to being strongly affected personally rather than defeating another

O

to overmaster

vsto overcome

• Literature

1 9.1

To defeat and control someone or something completely

describes being strongly affected but without implying an active conqueror

Antonyms

R

to resist

106 3.0

Hold up against stains, heat or storms

How Overwhelmed

overwhelming

414 4.4

to overcome

49 4.1

moved

137 3.6

to feel

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology