Talk:overwhelm

I've seen "ovewhelm" used as a noun, meaning the experience or emotion of feeling overwhelmed (e.g., here). Is this a metonym, or is it a standard use of the word?--Polyparadigm 22:20, 8 February 2007 (UTC)


 * What was the sentence? We have to see it in context before we can know what you’re talking about. —Stephen 22:55, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Overwhelmedness?
Is there no noun version of overwhelm? Like overwhelmedness? I want to say something like: The look in her eyes was one of overwhelmedness.


 * No, no noun. Your sentence would be better this way: The look in her eyes was one of being overwhelmed. —Stephen 14:17, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

I disagree. There is ample evidence for use of overwhelm as a noun, particularly in writings on time management. David Allen, of Getting Things Done fame, uses it in his definition of GTD: "Implementing GTD alleviates the feeling of overwhelm, instills confidence, and releases a flood of creative energy." You can also find many other examples of similar use by searching for "feeling of overwhelm" in Google Books. The earliest one I see in a quick search is from an A.E. Van Vogt book The Secret Galactics from 1974. MetaGrrrl 17:09, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

What about the sentence: "She was feeling overwhelmed by all that was required of her"?


 * We already define that. "She was overwhelmed by it" means "it overwhelmed her"; we have those senses. Equinox ◑ 01:34, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

overwhelm used as a noun
Here's an example of overwhelm being used as a noun: "This is a perfectly fair point, and the answer is that the majority of people give up very quickly or never get started on the road to a sustainable online businesses (the ‘Laptop Lifestyle’ dream) because of one massive obstacle - overwhelm."


 * Thanks for all the examples everyone; overwhelm as a noun seems weird. Any examples of overwhelm as a plural noun? --User123o987name (talk) 01:58, 3 April 2019 (UTC)