overwhelm

Universal Words verb [VN] [oftenpassive] 1 to have such a strong emotional effect on sb that it is difficult for them to resist or know how to react: She was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt. * He felt completely overwhelmed by their kindness. * The beauty of the landscape overwhelmed me. 2 to defeat sb completely: The army was overwhelmed by the rebels. 3 to be so bad or so great that a person cannot deal with it; to give too much of a thing to a person: We were overwhelmed by requests for information. 4 (literary) (of water) to cover sb/sth completely SYNFLOOD: The wave broke through the wall and overwhelmed the town.