Master confusing words with ease
Overweening vs. Overwhelming
Overweening
/əʊvəˈwiːnɪŋ/Examples:
His overweening pride led to his eventual downfall.She displayed an overweening sense of self-importance.The CEO's overweening ambitions worried the board.
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Overwhelming
/ˌəʊvəˈwelmɪŋ/Examples:
She felt an overwhelming sense of loss.'Gentle, charming, overwhelming Sally.'"It's overwhelming," Lyon said.
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This word has no antonymsWays to tell them apart:
- Overweening contains the word ween, which means to think or imagine, hinting at an individualistic, immodest attitude.
- Overwhelming has whelm, suggesting a flood or a big wave; imagine being swept over by emotions or situations.
- Overweening conveys a sense of arrogance or excessive pride, a behavior, while overwhelming implies an intensity of something experienced.
- To remember overweening, you might think of a wean overly proud of itself, contrasting with overwhelming's external massiveness.
- Associating overweening with showing off and overwhelming with feeling overcome can help differentiate them.
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