How to Use overwhelm in a Sentence
overwhelm
verb-
Levchenko, 36 years old, found a shortcut at the start of the war when morgues were overwhelmed.
—James Marson, WSJ, 7 Nov. 2023
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He was overwhelmed by smoke on the top floor and was forced to exit the building.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 1 July 2023
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We have been overwhelmed with a huge amount of love and support over the last few days.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024
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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
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The city’s hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed, unable to cope with the influx of the dead.
—Sarah Sirgany, CNN, 18 Sep. 2023
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Already overwhelmed by the sheer amount of deals at Amazon?
—Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 10 Oct. 2023
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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
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And then, of course, at all times, the screen is beckoning us, overwhelming our lives.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 31 Dec. 2023
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Taylor Swift is overwhelmed by the love from Sydney fans!
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
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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
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Don’t be overwhelmed by the store’s collection of over 550 bottles.
—Jillian Mueller, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
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Her fans rush to her defense, overwhelming the noise with even more applause.
—Candace Buckner, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
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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
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The sheer amount of water overwhelmed the city’s sewer system.
—Miriam Jordan, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2023
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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
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Cool gray paint on the walls and similarly hued floor tiles keep the pattern from overwhelming the small space.
—Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2023
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But in January 2020, the cancer began to overwhelm his body.
—Nathan Luna, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2024
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The various vocals on the track are generally clear, though the bass depth overwhelms the mix at times.
—PCMAG, 26 Jan. 2024
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The cardigan has a boxy, oversized silhouette but didn’t overwhelm my frame.
—Lauren Fischer, Travel + Leisure, 16 Dec. 2023
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The churning surf overwhelmed some beaches and injured at least eight people.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Jan. 2024
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The suspect was overwhelmed by the flight crew and subdued, and then handcuffed to a seat, the federal official told ABC News last month.
—Jolie Lash, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023
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Since then, Nvidia has been overwhelmed with customer requests.
—Stephen Witt, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2023
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The wonder of this painting is that, by not trying to overwhelm, Mason overwhelms.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2024
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But don’t be overwhelmed; get paletas at the paleteria.
—Kayla Samoy, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2024
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The offensive line overwhelmed Navy’s front, clearing huge holes.
—Ken Maguire, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2023
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Think of it as seasoning in a dish—just enough to improve the flavor without overwhelming the taste.
—Nick Zviadadze, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024
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Bwari, a satellite town 37 miles from the capital, has been overwhelmed by kidnap attacks for the last year, a sign of the growing nature of the problem.
—Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR, 9 Apr. 2024
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The suspect was overwhelmed by flight crew and subdued and then handcuffed to a seat, the federal official told ABC News.
—Amanda Maile, ABC News, 23 Oct. 2023
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Pound, who carried the torch for a segment in the Los Angeles enclave of Pacific Palisades, was overwhelmed by the size of the crowds, several rows deep on the sidewalks who watched him run.
—Les Carpenter, Washington Post, 21 July 2024
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The numbers overwhelmed stadium security, according to event organizers who had not set up enough checkpoints around the perimeter to ensure that everyone had a game ticket.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 18 July 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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