A situation of being overwhelmed.
"The sheer number of gifts was overwhelming, leaving her unable to even find a place to put them."
In plain English: An overwhelming feeling is when something feels so strong that it seems impossible to handle on your own.
"The weight of an overwhelming silence filled the empty room after everyone had left for dinner."
present participle of overwhelm
"The sudden rainstorm was so overwhelming that we had to take cover immediately."
In plain English: To overwhelm means to be so large, strong, or intense that it crushes you and makes it hard for you to cope.
"The sudden storm overwhelmed us and forced everyone to run for cover immediately."
so strong as to be irresistible
"an overpowering need for solitude"
"the temptation to despair may become overwhelming"
"an overwhelming majority"
very strong; urgently felt
"politics is his consuming passion"
"overwhelming joy"
Overpowering, staggering, or irresistibly strong.
"The overwhelming force of the storm knocked down every tree in its path."
In plain English: Overwhelming means something is so big, strong, or intense that it feels impossible to handle on your own.
"The sheer number of people made her feel overwhelmed by the noise and crowds."
Usage: Use overwhelming to describe an emotion, task, or force that is so intense it feels impossible to resist or manage on your own. It often pairs with feelings like joy or sorrow as well as burdensome responsibilities to emphasize their sheer magnitude.
The word overwhelming is formed by combining the prefix over with the verb overwhelm and adding the suffix -ing to create its present participle form. It entered English as a standard grammatical construction rather than through borrowing or semantic shift from another language.