Spanish has several ways to say “overwhelmed,” including agobiado or abrumado. People can feel overwhelmed at work or in difficult life circumstances, so your word choice depends on the situation.
Learn a few different synonyms for “overwhelmed” in Spanish so that you can empathize with people at work and express yourself clearly when you’re feeling pushed beyond your limits. This will not only strengthen your basic Spanish communication, but also enhance your understanding of how the Spanish language works.
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How to say ‘overwhelmed’ in Spanish
To say “I’m feeling overwhelmed” in Spanish, you’ll use the verb estar (to be) or sentirse (to feel) and an adjective like abrumado.
- Estoy abrumada. = I’m feeling overwhelmed.
- Me siento abrumado. = I feel overwhelmed.
The verb ser (to be) for a passive voice construction is also possible, but it’s more focused on the external action that overwhelmed you, rather than your feelings. For instance, you might explain why you left a difficult job:
- Fui abrumada por la responsabilidad. = I was overwhelmed by the responsibility.
To talk about other people feeling overwhelmed, be sure to follow gender rules and change the adjective to match the subject’s grammatical gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).
- El estudiante está abrumado por los exámenes finales. = The student is overwhelmed by the final exams.
- Estamos abrumados por las circunstancias complicadas. = We are feeling overwhelmed because of the circumstances.
- Las chicas están abrumadas hoy con tantas responsabilidades. = The girls are feeling overwhelmed today with so many responsibilities.
Other words for ‘overwhelmed’
All of these regular Spanish adjectives have a slightly different shade of meaning, giving you many powerful options to express your feelings in Spanish.
- Constant demands can make you feel agobiado (exhausted).
- Your email might be inundado (flooded) with questions.
- The phone won’t stop ringing with people pestering you with questions, leaving you atosigado (stressed/pressured).
- The emotional weight of grief and loss can make one feel angustiado (distressed/anguished).
- If your favorite team loses a game badly enough, you might say they were aplastado (crushed), along with their dreams.
| Spanish Word | English Meaning |
| abrumado | burdened/weighed down by emotion, responsibilities, or difficult news |
| agobiado | overwhelmed/exhausted mentally or physically by work demands |
| angustiado | distressed/anguished/experiencing strong emotional overwhelm of anxiety/dread |
| aplastado | crushed/squashed/flattened either literally or figuratively by a defeat |
| atosigado | overwhelmed/stressed by constant pressure or demands |
| estresado | stressed |
| inundado | flooded either literally or figuratively (with a large quantity of emails, tasks, or questions) |
| saturado | saturated/overloaded with information |
| sobrepasado | overwhelmed/having limits exceeded |
How do you say ‘overwhelming’ in Spanish?
While “overwhelmed” focuses on how you feel, abrumador (overwhelming) and its synonyms focus on the circumstances that are causing you to feel this way. For abrumador and other adjectives that end in “-or” in Spanish, add an “a” to the end for the feminine form.
- Hoy tuve un día abrumador.= Today I had an overwhelming day.
- Fue una experiencia abrumadora. = It was an overwhelming experience.
- Son unas tareas abrumadoras. = They’re overwhelming tasks.
| Spanish Word | English Meaning |
| abrumador | overwhelming/stressful on emotions or mental state |
| agobiante | overwhelming/staggering (heat, tight spaces, stress) |
| arrollador | overwhelming/intimidating/intense (personalities, victories) |
| acucinante | urgent/pressing, requires immediate attention |
| estresante | stressful |
| insoportable | unbearable |
| sofocante | suffocating |
Key takeaways to discuss feeling ‘overwhelmed’
Rosetta Stone‘s methods can help you learn words like “overwhelmed” in Spanish without making you feel abrumado.
- Synonyms such as angustiado, inundado, or aplastado each have a different nuance.
- Use estar or sentirse to express temporary feelings of overwhelm.
- The adjectives follow traditional Spanish grammar rules for adjective agreement.
- Other adjectives, such as abrumador or estresante focus on describing the cause instead of the feeling.
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