overwhelming
/ˌoʊvɚˈwɛlmɪŋ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.08 in modern English
24
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
adj
noun
A situation of being overwhelmed.
Example Sentences
- "The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades."
- "It is this stretch which provides what is perhaps the most staggering scenic prospect of all; the impression made on the mind by the overwhelming height of the Eiger, towering over the train, is almost impossible to describe."
- "God is an overwhelming responsibility."
- "“What makes a eugenicist is this overwhelming faith that everything in human nature is determined by your genes,” he says."
- "They have centuries of premodern experience in coping with being overwhelmed in multiple ways—not only by God, but also by other overwhelmings that have always been part of the human condition, such as disease, famine, war […]"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- Proto-Indo-European *kʷelp-der. Proto-Germanic *kʷolpós Proto-Germanic *hwalbazder.? Proto-Indo-European *kʷelp-der. Proto-Germanic *kʷólpo- Proto-Germanic *hwalbąder.? Old English hwealf Old English *hwealfnian Old English *hwealmnian? Middle English whelmen Middle English overwhelmen English overwhelm Proto-Indo-European *-onts Proto-Germanic *-ndz Proto-West Germanic *-andī Old English -ende Middle English -ynge English -ing English overwhelming From overwhelm + -ing.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌoʊvɚˈwɛlmɪŋ/
- British English: /ˌəʊvəˈwɛlmɪŋ/