Meaning & use
whelm
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Meanings
verbtransitivearchaicliterary
To cover or swallow something completely, especially with water, so that it disappears beneath the surface.
Grammar: Takes an object: the wave whelmed the boat.
Patterns
- whelm something
In the old poem a great wave threatens to whelm the small boat.
The flood could whelm the whole village before morning.
Dark water seemed ready to whelm anyone who stepped off the shore.
verbtransitiveliteraryrare
To overpower someone's mind or feelings so that they can hardly think or act.
Grammar: Takes a person as object and is often passive: she was whelmed by grief.
Patterns
- whelm someone
- be whelmed by something
Grief began to whelm her as she read the letter.
He was whelmed by the size of the task ahead.
Fear can whelm even the bravest sailor on a stormy night.
Word forms
| third person singular | whelms |
|---|---|
| past tense | whelmed |
| past participle | whelmed |
| -ing form | whelming |
Common combinations
- whelm a ship
- The poem describes a storm strong enough to whelm a ship.
- whelmed by grief
- She stood silent, whelmed by grief.
- whelm in water
- The sailors were whelmed in water when the hull split.
- neither whelmed nor impressed
- Reviewers were neither whelmed nor impressed by the sequel.
- not quite whelmed
- I was not quite whelmed by the opening speech.
Synonyms and how they differ
- engulf
- Engulf is current everyday English for swallowing something up, while whelm sounds old and poetic.
- submerge
- Submerge focuses on putting something under water and is neutral, whereas whelm adds a sense of overpowering force.
- overpower
- Overpower works for emotions and strength in general, but it lacks the picture of water closing over something that whelm has.
- swamp
- Swamp is more informal and often suggests too much work or water arriving at once, while whelm is literary.
Word family
- overwhelm verb
- to defeat or affect someone so strongly that they cannot cope
- overwhelming adjective
- so great or strong that it is hard to deal with
- overwhelmingly adverb
- to a very great extent or in huge numbers
- underwhelm verb
- to fail to impress someone (a humorous modern coinage)
- underwhelming adjective
- disappointing or not impressive
Commonly confused: whelm or overwhelm?
whelm vs overwhelm
Overwhelm is the ordinary modern word with the same idea of being swamped by something, while plain whelm is rare and mostly found in old or poetic writing.
Practice
In older writing, a poet might say that a huge wave could ___ a small boat. Which verb keeps the meaning of covering it completely?
Choose one answer.
Whelm means to cover or swallow something with water. Rinse and float do not suggest being swallowed, and tilt only means leaning to one side.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “whelm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.