overwhelmed
overwhelmed — 形容詞
1. feeling an extremely strong emotion such as shock, sadness, happiness, or gratit
極度激動
情緒強烈到難以控制
feeling an extremely strong emotion such as shock, sadness, happiness, or gratitude, so that it is hard to think clearly or react calmly — for example, overwhelmed by grief at a funeral, or overwhelmed with joy after hearing good news.
When Allison saw her family waiting at the airport, she was overwhelmed with happiness.
Allison 在機場看到家人時，感到極度激動與幸福。
overwhelmed + with + emotion noun
The young father felt overwhelmed by gratitude as the nurse handed him his newborn daughter.
護士將新生女兒交到年輕父親手中時，他心中充滿了感激。
overwhelmed + by + noun phrase (gratitude)
The president cried during the speech, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.
總統在演講中落淚，顯然情緒激動難以自持。
Gabriel was overwhelmed by shame when he realised he had forgotten his best friend's birthday.
Gabriel 發現自己忘了最好朋友的生日，羞愧得難以承受。
The mother was overwhelmed with relief when rescuers pulled her child from the river.
救難人員將孩子從河裡拉起時，那位母親如釋重負，激動萬分。
- overcome
very similar, but 'overcome' can also mean 'successfully deal with'; 'overwhelmed' only describes the feeling of being affected strongly
- moved
less intense; suggests gentle emotional effect rather than extreme
- flooded
informal figurative use; suggests emotions arriving suddenly and in large quantity
- unmoved
feeling no emotional reaction at all
文法句型
be + overwhelmed + by/with + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often used in the passive voice (be/become/feel overwhelmed). Subject is usually a person capable of emotion. The preposition 'with' is more common for positive emotions (joy, gratitude, pride), while 'by' is neutral and works for both positive and negative emotions.
常見錯誤
2. having too much work, too many tasks, or more responsibilities than you can mana
不堪負荷
工作或責任多到應付不了
having too much work, too many tasks, or more responsibilities than you can manage, often leading to stress or exhaustion — for example, a student overwhelmed by six final exams, or a new manager overwhelmed with budget reports.
Beatriz was overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork her new job required.
Beatriz 被新工作的大量文書作業壓得喘不過氣。
overwhelmed + by + amount of work
The night-shift nurse felt overwhelmed with patient files and medication schedules.
那位大夜班護士被病歷檔案和用藥排程弄得不堪負荷。
Hari's small bakery became overwhelmed during the holiday season and had to hire extra help.
Hari 的小麵包店在節日期間訂單爆量，只好增聘人手。
Many first-year university students feel overwhelmed by the jump in workload from high school.
許多大一新生因為課業量比高中大幅增加而感到吃不消。
The IT team was overwhelmed with support requests after the system update failed.
系統更新失敗後，IT 團隊被潮水般湧入的支援請求淹沒了。
- swamped
more informal and common in spoken British English
- snowed under
informal idiom, especially for paperwork and tasks
- stressed
focuses on the emotional result rather than the volume of work
- underworked
having too little to do
- free
having no pressing responsibilities
文法句型
be + overwhelmed + by/with + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often used for work or study contexts. The subject can be a person, a team, or an organisation. When the subject is an organisation (e.g. 'the hospital'), it means the people within it cannot cope with the volume of work.
常見錯誤
3. completely defeated or beaten by a person, team, army, or other group that is mu
壓倒性擊敗
因對方實力或人數遠勝而被徹底打敗
completely defeated or beaten by a person, team, army, or other group that is much stronger or has far greater numbers — for example, a small army overwhelmed by a much larger force, or a basketball team overwhelmed by the defending champions.
The defending army was overwhelmed by the sudden attack from three directions.
守軍遭到來自三個方向的突襲，完全被壓制住。
passive: be overwhelmed by [military force]
Jabari's chess club was overwhelmed in the final match against the national champions.
Jabari 的西洋棋社在全國冠軍戰中慘敗。
The town's small police force was overwhelmed by the rioters and called for backup.
鎮上的小警力不敵暴徒，只好請求支援。
The home team was overwhelmed in the second half by faster and taller opponents.
下半場地主隊被速度更快、身高更高的對手徹底壓倒。
The fire spread so quickly that the volunteer firefighters were overwhelmed before reinforcements arrived.
火勢蔓延太快，義勇消防隊在增援抵達前就已經無力應付。
- victorious
having won the contest
- triumphant
having achieved a notable victory
文法句型
be + overwhelmed + by + noun phrase
用法筆記
This sense focuses on physical defeat or being outmatched by strength or numbers. It is less common in everyday conversation than senses 1 and 2, appearing more in news reports about battles, sports, or disasters.