adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an irresistible/uncontrollable/overwhelming urge (= very strong )
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I was overcome by an irresistible urge to laugh.
an overwhelming majority (= a large majority )
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The resolution was passed by an overwhelming majority.
impossible/overwhelming odds (= making success seem extremely unlikely )
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They face impossible odds simply trying to get an education.
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They face overwhelming odds in their struggle to preserve the park.
overwhelming joy formal (= very great joy )
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She experienced a feeling of overwhelming joy.
overwhelming
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He felt an overwhelming temptation to kiss her.
overwhelming (= a very strong emotion that you feel suddenly )
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She was filled with an overwhelming emotion of relief.
overwhelming (= when there is so much evidence that you are sure that something is true )
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The evidence against him was overwhelming.
overwhelming (= so strong that it takes control of you )
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He felt an overwhelming desire for a cigarette.
the overwhelming/overriding impression (= an impression that is stronger than all others )
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The overwhelming impression after the meeting was one of optimism.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
almost
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He looked tired, a little subdued, and suddenly she was stunned by an almost overwhelming shock of tenderness.
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Swollen egos battled meaninglessly with a security system which did its level best, but the organisational problems were almost overwhelming .
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Her job, which was already fraught with tension, had now also become one of almost overwhelming stress and strain.
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I assemble my Trangia and cook food, avoiding the almost overwhelming temptation to use the gas cylinder.
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Now she hesitated, toying with an almost overwhelming temptation to spit it back in his face.
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She had several almost overwhelming desires.
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There was a fantastic atmosphere of pulling together, an almost overwhelming strength which bowled me over.
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There was certainly a specifically doctrinal attraction, which, for a time, was almost overwhelming .
so
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The spectacle that confronted him was so overwhelming that he all but stumbled in alarm before the policeman caught and steadied him.
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Paralytic Where the implications of the choice are so overwhelming that the individual can't make a choice at all.
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These are so overwhelming that they stop adults going on to do the courses they applied for or enquired about.
■ NOUN
desire
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An overwhelming desire to injure the plaintiff rather than to inform the public would have to be proved.
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Her fingers positively itched with the overwhelming desire to see his arrogant face transformed by a slap.
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She had several almost overwhelming desires .
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Amiss had an almost overwhelming desire to cadge a cigarette in order to demonstrate solidarity, but he repressed it.
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And finally, the great patron, the boss of the bunch, must have an overwhelming desire to win.
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She felt an overwhelming desire to giggle.
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With it came an overwhelming desire to press herself closer.
evidence
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On the other hand, there is overwhelming evidence of success.
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It also claimed that there was overwhelming evidence of intimidation and coercion.
feeling
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An overwhelming feeling of inadequacy flushed through me again.
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Personally I had nothing but an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for whoever had made the attempt impossible.
impression
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One chapter is devoted to the overwhelming impression made by Venice.
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My overwhelming impression now is one of revived optimism.
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The overwhelming impression in the survey of newly-established firms was also that they had originated in adjacent areas of London.
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The overwhelming impression of Soul is of a science in retreat, forced to admit the inadequacy of its materialism.
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The overwhelming impression of the participants is that they are investigating the way things are.
majority
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As modernization proceeded, the overwhelming majority of graduates became healthily integrated within existing society.
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A resolution to maintain the truce was carried by an overwhelming majority .
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The overwhelming majority of these will be just existing ways of doing things.
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And an overwhelming majority thought the photos would not further calls for tougher press controls.
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No, says the overwhelming majority .
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The overwhelming majority of peasant communications were oral in nature in a society that was still largely illiterate.
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The overwhelming majority of the world's people have lived until recently without the need to be members of national groups.
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The centre receives the overwhelming majority of all these referrals in the city.
need
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Both resorted to drink and felt an overwhelming need for Norman.
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Moaning softly, she swayed towards him, surrendering to an overwhelming need .
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As David's nose nuzzled the back of her neck, Clare had an overwhelming need to be even closer to him.
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In old age, however, the likelihood is that the overwhelming need will be for confirmation and acceptance of their situation.
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Stricken by a sudden overwhelming need , her fingers flew in search of his shirt buttons.
sense
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Perhaps the person experiences an overwhelming sense of injustice which renders them less capable of dealing with the problem a second time.
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Above all, I remember the overwhelming sense of defeatism and moral chaos that pervaded public discourse.
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They brought tears to her eyes, but tears of pain soon welled up from an overwhelming sense of despair.
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In his corner Joseph found himself grappling with an overwhelming sense of bewilderment.
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Cleo felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.
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A wry and comical early cynicism rapidly transforms into an overwhelming sense of sourness.
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The student described an overwhelming sense of poverty and decay.
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Despite himself, he felt an overwhelming sense of aversion towards the young man who stood before him.
support
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Mr Smith had the overwhelming support of his senior colleagues and the main trades union leaders.
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It was a credit to everybody and the people of Merseyside who put the finishing touches to everything with their overwhelming support .
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The most overwhelming support came for the Revenue's work in deterring and seeking out tax dodgers.
urge
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First, an overwhelming urge to find a market researcher and kick him or her hard on a soft target area.
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I can cheerfully admit that it made no impact on me apart from an overwhelming urge to be violently sick.
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Their high-kitsch varnish was offset by an overwhelming urge to educate.
victory
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The Tories' overwhelming victory in 1987 appeared to set the seal upon the triumph of bourgeois capitalism.
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D'Alembord also prayed for a swift and overwhelming victory for himself.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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an overwhelming experience
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She had an overwhelming urge to call Mel again in New York.
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The evidence against them is overwhelming .
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A resolution to maintain the truce was carried by an overwhelming majority.
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Christina Rossetti wanted to convey a particular feeling of overwhelming joy.
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Lindsey found herself battling against an almost overwhelming and totally illogical desire to run her fingers through its neatness.
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She had an overwhelming fear of syphilis, and the pattern of her tippling was similar to that with other addictive substances.
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She had several almost overwhelming desires.
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The odds against them were overwhelming .
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This was the most overwhelming experience I had ever had and I wanted to understand it.