What is the Meaning of OVERWHELMED and UNDERWHELMED?

What is the Meaning of OVERWHELMED and UNDERWHELMED?

This video gives two meanings of OVERWHELMED and also shows how the word UNDERWHELMED can be used.

Here is a transcript of the video: “The Meaning of OVERWHELMED | UNDERWHELMED”

Slide 2:
The meaning of OVERWHELMED is:

1. to submerge something, to bury beneath a mass of something (e.g. water), to engulf

The clipart shows a huge wave in the sea.

2. to affect deeply in mind or emotion, to have a strong emotional effect

The clipart shows a boy with his head in his hands, worrying.

Slide 3:
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Let’s now consider examples of OVERWHELMED

Slide 4:
In the picture we see a boat in a rough sea.

Sentence example: The fishing boat was almost overwhelmed by the waves during the storm in the Irish Sea.

Slide 5:
The picture shows medical staff in a hospital corridor.

Sentence example: In many countries, hospital services where overwhelmed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Slide 6:
The most common use of OVERWHELMED is definition No. 2 – to have a strong emotional effect, either in a positive or negative way . . .

Slide 7:
In the picture we see a man who is upset, holding his head.

Sentence example: After learning he lost his job, he went outside and suddenly felt overwhelmed with worry.

Slide 8:
The picture shows a mountain of flowers and tributes left at Kensington Palace, in August 1997, after the death of Princess Diana.

Sentence example: The public response to Princess Diana’s death was quite overwhelming.

Slide 9:
The meaning of UNDERWHELMED (adj.)

to be less than impressed, not excited

UNDERWHELMED began to be used in English in the early 1990s, often as a humorous or polite way to indicate you are not impressed or excited by something that was supposed to be extraordinary or impressive.

Slide 10:
The picture shows a girl texting.

Sentence example: She texted her friend: “After watching that movie you highly recommended, I feel quite underwhelmed!”

She is letting her friend know she found the movie disappointing, but doing it in a soft way, using humour.

Slide 11:
So in summary: OVERWHELMED can have a physical meaning as when a boat is overwhelmed by waves or something is almost buried or engulfed.

Often though it is used to describe a strong emotional effect, either in a positive or a negative way.

As a back-formation of the word OVERWHELMED, UNDERWHELMED is often used in a humorous way to describe something that was meant to be impressive but turns out be disappointing, failing to excite.

Note: a back-formation is a word that is formed from an existing word which looks as if it is a derivative

Slide 12:
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If you are interested in the meaning of OVERWHELMED and UNDERWHELMED,  you will no doubt find this page interested which deals with other words sometimes confused:
What is the Meaning of MUG, MUGGING, MUGGER?

 

Image Credits

Slide 4 – fishing boat
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/edDJVQ

Slide 5 – hospital
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/2jYao7S

Slide 7 – worry
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/22YiQF9

Slide 8 – Diana
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/6PadQ8

Slide 10 – texting
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/aUbw1a

Regarding the use of illustrations and photographs used in this video:

Creative Commons Attribution Licence
Others are allowed to copy, distribute, display, and perform copyrighted work – and derivative works based upon it if they give credit to the creator or source.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode