OVERFLOWS Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

overflows 1 of 2

noun

plural of overflow

as in floods

a great flow of water or of something that overwhelms a great overflow of water from the heavy rains swept mud and silt down onto the highway

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in surpluses

the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed an overflow of help actually made the job more complicated

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

overflows

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of overflow

as in spills

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

recedes

as in engulfs

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 bursts

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 overflows

Noun

Minor tidal overflows, especially during the late morning high tides. — Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2026 The governor’s office said the state was securing its harbors, deploying emergency personnel to strategic locations and monitoring dams for any possible breaches or overflows. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026 Weeks after overflows from Atlanta’s sewer tunnels contributed to the deaths of thousands of fish on the Chattahoochee River, the city’s Department of Watershed Management says its investigating another fish kill on a different river. — Drew Kann, AJC.com, 1 July 2026 As Connecticut’s climate changes, more frequent and intense storms have lead to more overflows. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026 The contamination, according to the organization, is often caused by sewage overflows, waste from large-scale farming, and urban runoff. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 25 June 2026 Researchers believe periodic flooding and river overflows helped preserve the eggs by covering them in sediment millions of years ago. — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026 As long as the 83/17 split remains in place, protecting local waterways from combined sewer overflows will continue to exacerbate the water affordability crisis in Detroit. — Nicole Van Lier, The Conversation, 13 May 2026 That can allow attackers to leverage serious vulnerabilities like buffer overflows and memory leaks to compromise devices. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026

Verb

South Florida roads and overflows sewage systems The National Weather Service in Miami concurs. — Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026 Nowadays, the Bemelmans Bar overflows with tourists fresh off the bus and twentysomethings who have pre-screened it on Instagram, and has lost its old, beautiful emptiness, but doubtless the same pull that drew us draws them. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026 The history of oil overflows with examples of imperialistic overreach being confronted, eventually, by populist backlash, leftist governments, and asset seizures. — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 1 Sep. 2026 Claudia Rankine’s new book overflows with grief for the backlash to racial progress, but history isn’t finished. — Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026 Choose Camps Bay Beach for a party scene along a promenade that overflows with shops and bars, or take a stroll to Clifton, a more secluded beach partitioned into four sections by giant rocks. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Aug. 2026 It's believed the debris washed ashore following recent heavy rainfall and sewer overflows, according to local reports citing the NJDEP. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 These overflows may send stormwater mixed with untreated or partially treated sewage into waterways. — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026 But the film overflows with childlike wonder, a comic-strip dream of girls next door and nerdy weirdoes growing muscles with puberty. — Darren Franich, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for overflows

Noun

In Sakarya province, around 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Istanbul, a two-story house that was built on a riverbed collapsed in the floods, HaberTurk television reported.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
With homes nearly toppling into the ocean and back-to-back floods and hurricanes amplifying our sense of dread, keeping track of all things El Niño can be overwhelming.

— Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of floods

Noun

Using aggressive budget caps that force huge surpluses, the governor has used $11 billion since 2020 to shrink pension debt.

— Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 3 Oct. 2026
Fulton argued the proposition effectively would limit clinics from accumulating surpluses and reserves.

— Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of surpluses

Verb

Still, every day, the lights are on at The Baobab House, music spills across the yard, and the visitors keep coming.

— Patricia Huon, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Oct. 2026
The dining room spills open to one of many terraces, this one equipped with a fire pit and a grill.

— Tori Latham, Robb Report, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of spills

Verb

In 90 percent of instances, if a team overwhelms another in the trenches on both sides of the ball, that team wins the game handily.

— Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Sep. 2026
Revenue that overwhelms delivery teams, adds friction for customers or depends on heroic effort is not the same as scalable growth.

— Tim Dowd, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of overwhelms

Verb

In these moments, the actor bursts through his roles as the Spider does through Reilly, unleashing the Grand Guignol excess that is Nicolas Cage.

— Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Things quickly take a terrifying turn during surgery when a scorpion tail suddenly bursts through Perry’s back, attacking one of the surgeons mid-operation.

— Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026

Definition of bursts

Noun

Few of her words survived the torrents of sound in which they were immersed; as with certain Grouper recordings, the lyrics emerged as texture more than syntax.

— Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 8 Oct. 2026
Such terrain is already conducive to flash flooding, sudden torrents that can sweep down canyons and other low-lying areas with little warning.

— Megan Janetsky, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of torrents

Noun

His conservatism was seen by many as an antidote to the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
But Coppola’s film, irrespective of its fatal flaws and excesses, at least meant something in the context of his career.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of excesses

Verb

Best Time To Visit As a lake town, Coeur d’Alene buzzes with activity in the summer months, but fall is arguably its best season.

— Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 6 Oct. 2026
Elimar, the ground floor restaurant, buzzes at breakfast with a spectacular spread including giant wheels of parmesan and sides of prosciutto, fruit, egg and pancake stations, and a gluten-free section.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of buzzes

Browse Nearby Words

overflowing

overflows

overfull

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Overflows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overflows. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of overflows

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes