Definition of "overwhelming"

The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades.

1945 August 17, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter 1, in Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg

It is this stretch which provides what is perhaps the most staggering scenic prospect of all; the impression made on the mind by the overwhelming height of the Eiger, towering over the train, is almost impossible to describe.

1960 December, Voyageur, “The Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland”, in Trains Illustrated, page 754

God is an overwhelming responsibility.

1972, “Thick As A Brick”, Ian Anderson (lyrics), performed by Jethro Tull

They have centuries of premodern experience in coping with being overwhelmed in multiple ways—not only by God, but also by other overwhelmings that have always been part of the human condition, such as disease, famine, war […]

2013, David Ford, Theology: A Very Short Introduction, page 9