overwhelm
To have too much to deal with or to overpower
Examples
In a meeting
“Don't overwhelm new employees with too much information on day one.”
Over coffee
“I'm overwhelmed with all the wedding planning tasks.”
Why this word
overcome
Overwhelm emphasizes being completely overpowered or flooded beyond capacity, while overcome is more about defeating or getting past something
overpower
Overwhelm conveys being buried or inundated with too much of something, while overpower focuses more on force or strength
swamp
Overwhelm is the standard term for being emotionally or physically buried by excess, while swamp is more informal and primarily means too much work
Usage tip
Use to describe feeling buried under excessive work, emotions, or responsibilities
Etymology
Middle English over- 'completely' + whelm 'to overturn or engulf'
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Related words
backlog
An accumulation of work that needs to be completed
bandwith
Available capacity or resources to take on tasks
bandwidth
Available capacity or mental energy to handle tasks
broach
To bring up or introduce a topic for discussion
streamline
To make a process or system more efficient by simplifying or eliminating unnecessary steps.
delegate
To assign a task or responsibility to someone else.