overwhelm Copy link Outline 1. obruo, i, ŭtum, 3 (lit. and fig.)2. opprĭmo, pressi, ssum, 3 (to crush, subdue)3. mergo, si, sum, 3 (to plunge; hence fig., to involve in destruction, etc.4. cŏopĕrio, rui, rtum, 4 (to cover wholly; lit. and fig.) • overwhelm: 1. obruo, i, ŭtum, 3 (lit. and fig.): o. their sunken ships, submersas obrue puppes, Virg. Aen. 1, 69: to be o.'d with missiles, telis obrui, id., 2, 411: to be o.'d by the greatness of responsibility as by a wave, tanquam fluctu, sic magnitudine officii obrui, Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 1. Join: [criminibus, testibus] obrui atque opprimi, id. Verr. 2, 1, 7, extr. 2. opprĭmo, pressi, ssum, 3 (to crush, subdue): to be o.'d by the fall of a chamber, ruina conclavis opprimi, id. Div. 2, 8, 20: o.'d with insults, contumeliis [opertus atque] oppressus, id. Verr. 4, 50, 111. o.'d with debt, aere alieno oppressus, Sall. Cat. 40. 3. mergo, si, sum, 3 (to plunge; hence fig., to involve in destruction, etc.: chiefly poet.): to o. any one in the deep, aliquem aequore m., Virg. Aen. 6, 348: to o. with untimely death, funere m. acerbo, ib. 6, 511: Liv.: v. to sink. Comp. submergo, 3: to o. in the deep, ponto s., Virg. Aen. 1, 40. Also fig., tenebris s., Claud. 4. cŏopĕrio, rui, rtum, 4 (to cover wholly; lit. and fig.): v. to cover. Esp. in p. part. (fig.): o.'d with sufferings, miseriis coopertus, Sall. Jug. 14; with guilt, flagitiis atque facinoribus c., id. Cat. 23 Cic. And in same sense, less freq., opertus: courts o.'d with infamy, judicia operta dedecore atque infamia, Cic. Clu. 22, 61. Phr.: to be o.'d with grief, in moerore jacēre, id. Att. 10, 4, med.; moerore afflictum esse et profligatum, id. Cat. 2, 1, 2 (see also to overcome): to be o.'d with infamy, infamia flagrare, id. Att. 4, 18: Hor.