overwhelming

1. 1.

   so strong as to be irresistible

   “an overpowering need for solitude”

   “the temptation to despair may become overwhelming”

   “an overwhelming majority”

   Synonymsoverpowering

   Similarirresistible
2. 2.

   very strong; urgently felt

   “politics is his consuming passion”

   “overwhelming joy”

   Synonymsconsuming

   Similarintense

Questions about overwhelming

What does overwhelming mean?

overwhelming means "so strong as to be irresistible". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in overwhelming?

overwhelming has 4 syllables: o-ver-whel-ming. The stress falls on "whel". In IPA it is /ˌoʊvɚˈwɛlmɪŋ/.

What is another word for overwhelming?

Close synonyms include overpowering, consuming. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is overwhelming a common word?

overwhelming is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.