verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an irresistible/uncontrollable/overwhelming urge (=very strong)
▪ I was overcome by an irresistible urge to laugh.
an overwhelming majority (=a large majority)
▪ The resolution was passed by an overwhelming majority.
be consumed with/racked with/overwhelmed by guilt (=feel very guilty)
▪ Later he was horrified that he had hit her, and was racked by guilt.
impossible/overwhelming odds (=making success seem extremely unlikely)
▪ They face impossible odds simply trying to get an education.
▪ They face overwhelming odds in their struggle to preserve the park.
overwhelming joyformal (= very great joy)
▪ She experienced a feeling of overwhelming joy.
overwhelming
▪ He felt an overwhelming temptation to kiss her.
overwhelming (=a very strong emotion that you feel suddenly)
▪ She was filled with an overwhelming emotion of relief.
overwhelming (=when there is so much evidence that you are sure that something is true)
▪ The evidence against him was overwhelming.
overwhelming (=so strong that it takes control of you )
▪ He felt an overwhelming desire for a cigarette.
the overwhelming/overriding impression (=an impression that is stronger than all others)
▪ The overwhelming impression after the meeting was one of optimism.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
almost
▪ The longing to get them to recite their tables was almost overwhelming for the non-converted.
▪ First, the needs in the poorest countries of the world are almost overwhelming...
▪ Now they are both desperately trying not to overprotect Robert, and are almost overwhelmed by feelings of rage.
▪ About the only thing missing from an almost overwhelming amount of information are Net sites for each club.
▪ What did finesse have to do with that wild upsurge of feeling which had almost overwhelmed her?
▪ The day-to-day details to be mastered were almost overwhelming.
▪ Like most of its genre, TripMaker provides an almost overwhelming variety of options and add-ons.
simply
▪ The severity of underlying illness simply overwhelms the effect of age.
▪ He was simply overwhelmed with a feeling of abandonment.
▪ The evidence that this is the case is simply overwhelming.
▪ The amount of batter simply overwhelms the pan.
▪ The Chiefs would have won, whatever defense they played, because their defensive players simply overwhelmed the Raiders.
so
▪ The warmth of a moment ago that had so overwhelmed her had cooled to a more familiar glint of contempt.
▪ At the same time she is so overwhelmed by guilt she can not allow herself to be apart frown the baby.
▪ The problem is that being in love is so overwhelming it can be hard to make sensible decisions.
▪ Perhaps they were so overwhelmed with all their other responsibilities that they were not able to see beyond them.
▪ I feel so overwhelmed with hopelessness.
▪ The day was so overwhelming at one point that I had to get in the car and just sleep.
▪ The evidence for evolution is so overwhelming that scientists say the probability of it being true approaches 100 percent.
■ NOUN
evidence
▪ The evidence was overwhelming, but none so precise and clear as that given by a Mr Bryant and his teenage daughter.
▪ Second, the evidence is overwhelming.
▪ At the assizes the evidence against him was overwhelming.
▪ Lynne, it may look circumstantial to you, but from where I sit the evidence is pretty overwhelming.
▪ The evidence would seem overwhelming that Lenin was not devious in defending Clause 9.
▪ The circumstantial evidence is merely overwhelming.
▪ The evidence is overwhelming that he did not at this stage contemplate a coalition government.
face
▪ Something seemed to pour through his face and overwhelm her, something molten, timeless, glorious.
▪ Eight industrial proposals on the November ballot went down hard in the face of overwhelming voter disapproval.
poll
▪ If this measure could indeed alienate Latinos, why do several recent polls show overwhelming support from Latinos for dismantling bilingual education?
▪ Nevertheless, statewide polls still show overwhelming public support for the Games.
sense
▪ Instead he had been overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude and a sense of responsibility.
▪ In their openness and vitality the students kindled in the young scholar an overwhelming sense of devotion to the institution.
▪ Despite desegregation, the old, overwhelming sense of adversity has returned.
▪ One reads this account of their activities and comes away with an overwhelming sense of visceral revulsion: The Saatchi brothers stink!
▪ Pastel colours are gentle and romantic, helping to restrain exuberant reds and yellows from overwhelming the senses.
▪ For them, as for me, there is an overwhelming sense of squandered opportunities.
▪ She realised that Mousa would never play that game again, and she was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of tragedy.
▪ Such statistics can serve merely to overwhelm one with a sense of futility.
support
▪ Voice over Count Tolstoy has been overwhelmed by the support he's received.
▪ It has won the endorsement of President Clinton, the overwhelming support of the House and unanimous approval by the Senate.
▪ The 22-square-mile area, sandwiched between Oro Valley and Marana, has the overwhelming support of its residents.
▪ If this measure could indeed alienate Latinos, why do several recent polls show overwhelming support from Latinos for dismantling bilingual education?
▪ Those politicians who called for revocation of the tags already enjoyed overwhelming black support.
▪ Nevertheless, statewide polls still show overwhelming public support for the Games.
■ VERB
become
▪ But the sheer numbers in relation to need can become overwhelming.
▪ These children almost see too much: they are so aware of what they see that they become frightened or overwhelmed.
▪ Stock exchanges and property prices collapsed, so the debts became overwhelming.
▪ There is, in fact, so much to see here that a traveler can easily become overwhelmed.
▪ When one thinks about consciousness in this way, the impression of purposiveness in evolution becomes virtually overwhelming.
feel
▪ Sometimes the customer can feel overwhelmed by the choice!
▪ If all this research leaves you feeling overwhelmed, you can turn to a campus career counselor for help sorting things out.
▪ However, I still feel overwhelmed by depression.
▪ Try to call them at home; if the office has been downsized, they might feel overwhelmed at work.
▪ At times she felt overwhelmed by his personality, which sometimes bordered on piety.
▪ If I feel anxious or overwhelmed, I can go to a psychiatrist.
▪ Many growers may feel overwhelmed as they struggle to keep abreast of potentially helpful developments.
▪ I feel so overwhelmed with hopelessness.
seem
▪ The evidence would seem overwhelming that Lenin was not devious in defending Clause 9.
▪ The degree to which Stephen appeared to feel gratitude for the ordinary fun we had that day seemed overwhelming.
▪ A few reviewers seemed overwhelmed by the exoticism of it all.
▪ Motor-vehicle theft cases seem to be overwhelming local authorities.
▪ Her teachers reported that she seemed overwhelmed, unable to concentrate.
▪ Mr van der Luyden seemed overwhelmed by the announcement.
▪ Its harsh tannins seem to overwhelm the fruit.
show
▪ If this measure could indeed alienate Latinos, why do several recent polls show overwhelming support from Latinos for dismantling bilingual education?
▪ Nevertheless, statewide polls still show overwhelming public support for the Games.
▪ The utilities' charts show that the overwhelming majority of air pollution in the region results from natural dust.
threaten
▪ She bit her lip, fighting the fear that threatened to overwhelm her.
▪ Other times, like tonight, the world threatened to overwhelm him.
▪ So, it's vital to zap stress fast whenever it threatens to overwhelm you.
▪ It is now threatening to overwhelm the beds of a native seagrass which are important breeding grounds for fish.
▪ But eventually he was forced to concede that religious and regional fanaticism threatened to overwhelm his reforms.
▪ And in the storm of emotion that threatened to overwhelm her there was only room for one thought.
▪ The sufferings he saw everywhere piled up more and more tasks and threatened to overwhelm him.
▪ The husband belongs to Scarlet, a woman whose life of quiet desperation threatens to overwhelm her.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Auto theft cases seem to be overwhelming local police.
▪ Most preparations overwhelm the flavor of good oysters.
▪ Napoleon's army was strong enough to overwhelm nearly any potential enemy.
▪ Sometimes a sense of deep frustration almost overwhelms her.
▪ The Lakers overwhelmed the Sonics by the third quarter.
▪ With its greatly superior technology, the government forces completely overwhelmed the rebels.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But they are overwhelmed by bureaucratic regulations and by their inordinately high case loads.
▪ First, the needs in the poorest countries of the world are almost overwhelming...
▪ I kissed Mr Vulcan: I was overwhelmed.
▪ If you laugh at all, it's only to stop the sadness overwhelming you.
▪ Just thinking about it overwhelms me with its complexity.
▪ That weeping was his weeping; the grief that had overwhelmed him for so long.
▪ The House is expected to pass the measure by an overwhelming margin Wednesday.
▪ The utilities' charts show that the overwhelming majority of air pollution in the region results from natural dust.