overwhelmed
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
feeling like you have too many things to do and not enough time or energy to finish them.
burdened by an excessive amount of work, responsibility, or sensory input that exceeds one's coping capacity.
Simple“I felt completely overwhelmed by all the emails I had to answer after my holiday.”
In context“The social worker felt increasingly overwhelmed as her caseload doubled without any additional administrative support from the department.”
UsageOften followed by the preposition 'by' or 'with'.
PitfallThe work was very overwhelmed. The work was very overwhelming.Use 'overwhelmed' to describe how a person feels, and 'overwhelming' to describe the thing causing that feeling.
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
feeling a very strong emotion, like being so happy or sad that you cannot speak.
experiencing an intense emotional reaction that temporarily incapacitates one's usual composure.
Simple“She was overwhelmed with joy when she saw her family at the airport.”
In context“The young author appeared visibly overwhelmed by the standing ovation, struggling to find the right words for her acceptance speech.”
SynonymsAntonymsindifferentunmoved
“As temperatures climbed, heat and drought overwhelmed the benefits of higher carbon dioxide levels.”
“But overwhelmed by the early weeks of motherhood, and suffering from post-partum depression after a traumatic birth, she was daunted by the prospect of a long journey to a doctor's surgery.”