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overwhelm

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To overpower emotionally.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ohverwehlm

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

oʊvɚˈwɛlm

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. To overpower emotionally.

  2. To overpower, crush.

  3. To engulf, surge over and submerge.

  4. To cause to surround, to cover.

noun

  1. The state or condition of being overwhelmed.

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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: to overpower emotionally

noun

Sense: state or condition of being overwhelmed

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.