Learn English – single-word noun for an overwhelming feeling that uses “overwhelm” as its root

gerundsnouns

Is there a single-word noun for an overwhelming feeling that uses overwhelm as its root?

My first thought was to make a gerund, that is, overwhelming. Although overwhelming is normally used as an adjective, this strategy applies to verbs like "cook", since cooking can be both a noun and an adjective.

That being said, I don't think I have ever heard overwhelming use as a noun, such as for example:

The overwhelming was terrible.

Pardon the technical jargon, but that just doesn't sound right. Searching around here and elsewhere online doesn't yield more than people suggesting overwhelming feeling or overwhelmption (although girldetective.net may not be an authoritative source on the English language).

Is there a single word that fits this use case? If not, why does such a word not exist? Is the verb overwhelm part of a certain class of verbs that don't lend themselves to this?

Best Answer

The OED includes these words as starting with “overwhelm‑”: overwhelmed, overwhelmedness, overwhelmer, overwhelming, overwhelmingly, overwhelmingness, overwhelmment.

It defines overwhelmment as “overwhelmedness; overwhelmingness” and gives these citations:

  • 1866 W. M. Thomas tr. Hugo’s Toilers of Sea II. vii. i. 90 — There is a degree of overwhelmment which abstracts the mind entirely from its fellowship with man.
  • 1960 Angling Times 9 Sept. 6/2 — Our river may cause love at first sight, a sudden instantaneous overwhelmment with its manifest beauty.

Note that overwhelming can itself be used as a noun. Here is one of the OED citations for that:

  • 1883 Athenæum 4 Aug. 134/3 - A story of a sharp fight for existence and an ultimate overwhelming.
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