OVERFLOWING Synonyms: 112 Similar and Opposite Words

overflowing 1 of 2

adjective

as in teeming

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

as in overloaded

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

overflowing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of overflow

as in spilling

to flow over the brim or top of while the wine steward stood there gawking at the nearby celebrity, my expensive champagne was overflowing its glass and pouring onto our table

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

receding

as in flooding

to cover with a flood the swollen river overflowed the surrounding land and washed several houses away

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in bursting

to be copiously supplied a magazine that usually overflows with home-repair tips for the do-it-yourselfer

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of overflowing

Adjective

Authorities warn of potential secondary floods due to an overflowing lake in the area where the first glacier collapsed. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026 One of Cash’s interests, carried over from Earth Angel, her 2023 debut book of short stories, is an overflowing index of animal references. — Niela Orr, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026 And Zermatt itself also has pockets of traditional charm, with streets lined with chalet after chalet and overflowing flower boxes. — Rick Steves, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026 JPMorgan has even needed to lease additional space to facilitate staffers’ return, renting several floors in the former Credit Suisse office close to the US lender’s overflowing European headquarters. — Jack Sidders, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2025 So there Wilson went toward the overflowing Aces’ bench. — Ben Pickman, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025 The more unexpected takeaway was the show's graphic depiction of an overflowing toilet as the climax of the episode, which was set on Thanksgiving Day. — Carson Blackwelder, People.com, 26 Aug. 2025 In the suburban village of Wauwatosa, an overflowing and fast-moving Menomonee River submerged a popular playground. — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2025

Verb

Mauricio Granados who works at EDITION Residences said the overflowing king tide said flooding was making the morning tough for Edgewater pedestrians. — Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026 Human kindness should be overflowing Longtime Everman residents Andy Booth and Yvonne Booth told the Star-Telegram that the news was especially difficult for them because Noel lived a block away. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2026 American educational history is overflowing with abuse, segregation, substandard structures, and smoldering scorn. — Kamau Bobb october 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026 Add a guest list overflowing with Hollywood crème de la crème to the mix and that magic is amplified tenfold. — Kelsey Stewart, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2026 There’s the ever-growing collection of vinyl and books overflowing from the lobby lounge’s shelves. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026 Several communities were cut off by landslides and overflowing rivers elsewhere in Baja California. — CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 Cut Out Clutter Imagine a pile of junk mail on your dining room table or a nightstand overflowing with a week’s worth of water glasses. — Megan McCarty, The Spruce, 12 Oct. 2026 And the Rio Grande that ran dry through a long stretch of the state was overflowing. — Mead Gruver, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for overflowing

Adjective

The new findings are confounding scientists’ expectations, raising questions about how exactly molecules can encounter their reactive partners in a teeming, crowded space — and therefore how cells can possibly function.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 18 Feb. 2026

Definition of teeming

Adjective

Tragedy near Puerto Rico The interception from Haiti comes just over a week after an overloaded boat capsized off a small islet between Hispaniola, the island Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico with 62 people on board.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026
If a process works perfectly only as long as one particular manager is available, what happens when that person takes time off, changes roles or becomes overloaded?

— Michael Goshka, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of overloaded

Verb

One evening a month, roughly a dozen men and women convene at the Panera Bread in Campbell, filling the dining room’s largest table and spilling into nearby booths.

— Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 22 Oct. 2026
But like many fascinating reality-TV subjects of the early 2000s, the family was eventually doomed to years of public estrangement, disagreements, and tension spilling offscreens.

— Isabella Albaig, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of spilling

Verb

As high tide peaked Monday morning, water surged from Newport Harbor onto the streets of the Balboa Peninsula flooding some businesses in the Balboa Fun Zone.

— Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
That means Treasury will need to keep borrowing — a lot, flooding the market with bonds.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of flooding

Verb

When a bank of televisions showed horses bursting through the starting gate, feet stomped on the club’s carpet.

— Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
And every few months, a bursting FedEx envelope from Baltimore would appear at my desk at PRH containing Professor Dixon’s typewritten chunks of new and unpublished writing.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of bursting

Adjective

With Election Day approaching, California voters are facing a crowded ballot and competing claims about what the state's propositions would do.

— James Taylor, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
The International Monetary Fund warned this month that growing leverage, crowded positions and correlated selling from hedge funds could create potential stability risks.

— Hugh Son, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of crowded

Adjective

The boxes allegedly cost substantially less to produce, allowing the conspirators to use the inflated prices to finance bribes and divert government funds.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026
As a result, conventional estimates produced inflated efficiency values that failed to reflect actual device behavior under operating conditions.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of inflated

Browse Nearby Words

overflowed

overflowing

overflows

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Overflowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overflowing. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of overflowing

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

grotesque

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes