How to Use overwhelm in a Sentence

overwhelm

verb
  • The city was overwhelmed by the invading army.
  • They were overwhelmed with work.
  • Don't overwhelm him with facts.
  • The sauce should be more of a thin glaze with a punch of heat that doesn’t overwhelm the dish.
    Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Levchenko, 36 years old, found a shortcut at the start of the war when morgues were overwhelmed.
    James Marson, WSJ, 7 Nov. 2023
  • He was overwhelmed by smoke on the top floor and was forced to exit the building.
    Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 1 July 2023
  • We have been overwhelmed with a huge amount of love and support over the last few days.
    Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024
  • For two hours, the weight of the occasion threatened to overwhelm the match.
    Susie Rushton, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2022
  • The plant will turn from green to brown, and the jar will keep the aroma of cannabis from overwhelming the kitchen.
    Amanda Yeager, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2023
  • The cluster is bright and easy to read and doesn’t overwhelm you with data.
    Roberto Baldwin, The Verge, 20 Mar. 2023
  • The city’s hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed, unable to cope with the influx of the dead.
    Sarah Sirgany, CNN, 18 Sep. 2023
  • Already overwhelmed by the sheer amount of deals at Amazon?
    Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 10 Oct. 2023
  • Tip’s owner had been overwhelmed by six dogs and four cats.
    Jennifer Peltz, ajc, 7 May 2023
  • Simply put, the Lakers were overwhelmed by Morant and Bane.
    Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Given the powerful 80-mile-an-hour winds, the force of the wind would have overwhelmed their vessel.
    Analisa Novak, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2023
  • And then, of course, at all times, the screen is beckoning us, overwhelming our lives.
    Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 31 Dec. 2023
  • Taylor Swift is overwhelmed by the love from Sydney fans!
    Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
  • The plant was built to handle the spills from Tijuana but has been overwhelmed by the increasing flows over the years.
    Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Feb. 2024
  • Sentiment takes a back seat to thrift, and the bitter truth cannot overwhelm a tremendous sense of loss.
    Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 July 2022
  • But its elephants, breeding at a rate of 10% per year, could soon overwhelm the park, said experts.
    Gregory Gondwe, USA TODAY, 15 July 2022
  • Don’t be overwhelmed by the store’s collection of over 550 bottles.
    Jillian Mueller, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Her fans rush to her defense, overwhelming the noise with even more applause.
    Candace Buckner, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
  • An artist and her ego can often overwhelm or even outperform the art.
    Lynn Steger Strong, The New Republic, 17 Mar. 2023
  • The whole show felt choreographed to overwhelm even its star, and when Lana left the stage for the final time, she was carried off, swaddled in a white sheet.
    Pitchfork, 20 Dec. 2023
  • The sheer amount of water overwhelmed the city’s sewer system.
    Miriam Jordan, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2023
  • Much as an electric field can overwhelm the weak force of gravity, so, too, can the warmth of a lonely atom.
    Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 27 Sep. 2023
  • But just a short 10- to 20-mile jaunt north and storm surge will overwhelm the densely populated area.
    John Bacon, USA TODAY, 10 Oct. 2024
  • Start with this style, a touch of island life in cooler tones to subtly sport the trend, without overwhelming the eyes.
    Maverick Li, Men's Health, 30 Mar. 2023
  • In a melee of swords, daggers and pistols, Maynard’s men, most of them injured, overwhelmed Blackbeard, leaving him shot five times and cut 20.
    Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2024
  • The bench allows for transitional seating without overwhelming the room.
    Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 2 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overwhelm.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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