To feel overwhelmed is to feel buried under too much of something: too many tasks, too many emotions, or too many problems all at once. When you're overwhelmed, your mind struggles to handle everything pressing on it at the same time. It's like trying to catch twenty tennis balls thrown at you simultaneously instead of one at a time.

A student might feel overwhelmed on a night when they have math homework, a science project due tomorrow, a book report to finish, and a piano recital to practice for. Each task alone might be manageable, but together they feel impossible. Someone might also feel emotionally overwhelmed when processing difficult feelings, like grief after losing a pet or anxiety before a big performance.

When waves overwhelm a small vessel, they pour over its sides and can sink it. That image captures the feeling: you're swamped, flooded, unable to keep your head above water.

People who feel overwhelmed sometimes try to break things into smaller pieces and tackle them one at a time. The opposite feeling might be called being underwhelmed, which means something failed to impress you or meet your expectations, leaving you thinking, “is that all?”