to overwhelm

Examples

• All

• A lamp pales and casts no light of its own, overwhelmed by sunlight.

  Fiction book (2000)

• Overwhelmed by the smell of the honeysuckle, the children ran off to play kick the can.

  Fiction book (1990)

• The young are the most vulnerable, their small bodies easily overwhelmed by the cold.

  March of the Dinosaurs (2011)

• Everything is just overwhelmed by the chaos.

• I'm sorry, the office has been overwhelmed.

  Secretary (2002)

• For an instant, total darkness overwhelmed them.

  Fiction book (1991)

• Every cell tower in America is being overwhelmed with vines.

  Unbelievable!!!!! (2020)

• The tangy apple-pie smell overwhelmed the small kitchen.

  Fiction book (1994)

• Hospitals are overwhelmed.

  Super Cyclone (2012)

• The sudden flood overwhelmed the small village, making it impossible to see the streets.

Synonyms

H

to hide

vsto overwhelm

∞ 1.0

To keep something so others cannot see or understand it

is about total covering rather than deliberate concealment

C

to cover

vsto overwhelm

∞ 1.0

To put something over another thing to protect or hide it

means complete burying rather than a simple top layer

B

to bury

vsto overwhelm

254 1.6

To cover something completely so it cannot be seen

covers fully but not only by putting under ground

D

to drown

vsto overwhelm

51 3.3

Cover a sound so it cannot be heard

focuses on covering visually rather than sensory masking

E

to engulf

vsto overwhelm

40 5.1

To cover something completely and suddenly, often by fire or water

is equally total but does not imply sudden violence

S

to shroud

vsto overwhelm

38 6.0

To cover something completely, often with a cloth

is the broader action of complete concealment without wrapping

V

to veil

vsto overwhelm

24 5.0

To cover something so others cannot easily see or understand it

is a stronger act that fully prevents perception

S

to smother

vsto overwhelm

20 4.2

To cover completely with something so it is hard to see or reach

means total covering but not primarily about blocking movement

S

to submerge

vsto overwhelm

15 4.6

To cover completely so it cannot be seen, often by water or strong feeling

is broader and not limited to being under a surface

B

buried beneath

vsto overwhelm

9 4.2

Under something so it is covered and cannot be seen

covers fully but without stressing the beneath positioning

B

to blot out

vsto overwhelm

8 5.4

Hide something so you cannot see it or remember it

focuses on visual loss rather than memory or fame loss

E

to enshroud

vsto overwhelm

• Literature

1 8.2

To cover something completely so you cannot see or understand it

is the general act of total concealment without fabric image

O

to overspread

vsto overwhelm

1 7.1

Move across a surface and cover it, like mist or color

implies full burial rather than merely spreading over

W

to whelm

vsto overwhelm

• Archaic

9.3

To cover something completely with water or soil

is similar but does not stress liquid immersion

O

to obnubilate

vsto overwhelm

• Archaic

9.9

Make something unclear or hard to understand

is literal full covering rather than only causing confusion

B

to becloud the view

vsto overwhelm

8.7

Make the view hard to see because of fog or smoke

is a complete hiding act, not just reducing visibility

Antonyms

R

to reveal

∞ 2.3

Show something that was hidden or secret

How Covered

to smother

20 4.2

to overwhelm

4 4.2

to blanket

28 4.2

to cover

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology