What's the difference between devastate and overwhelm?

Devastate


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To lay waste; to ravage; to desolate.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It appears that irrespective of the elucidation of the nature of the putative aetiological factor (presumed to be viral) in MS, the arrest and reversal of T cell-related events within the CNS in this devastating condition represent feasible goals and should remain a major target for some time to come.
  • (2) Samaras said: A "Grexit", as it is called, would be devastating for Greece and detrimental to Europe.
  • (3) While winds gusting to 170mph caused significant damage, the devastation in areas such as Tacloban – where scenes are reminiscent of the 2004 Indian ocean tsunami – was principally the work of the 6-metre-high storm surge, which carried away even the concrete buildings in which many people sought shelter.
  • (4) The Financial Services Authority is meant to be the City's watchdog but "devastating" internal documents reveal it has secretly co-ordinated high-level lobbying strategies with the industry it is supposed to police.
  • (5) The government acknowledged it had been overwhelmed by the devastation from the deadliest quake in Nepal in over 80 years.
  • (6) Mark Rasch, a cyber crime expert quoted by the FT, meanwhile said recent events have been “a serious and devastating attack to [Sony’s] reputation and image”, and his opinion is played out by a new YouGov poll into the public perception of Sony’s brand.
  • (7) "When people don't feel they have a reason to stay out of trouble, the consequences for communities can be devastating – as we saw last August," said Darra Singh, chair of the panel.
  • (8) Newcastle United are “devastated” by their relegation from the Premier League, according to the club’s managing director Lee Charnley.
  • (9) In order to reduce the devasting effects of enteric diseases among children born to mothers in tropical countries of Africa and Asia, it is imperative that all health workers understand the cultural and social perceptions of their clients towards the disease in question.
  • (10) All the personality, dignity and humanity of a person are devastated by this torture.
  • (11) Age UK believes McDonald's human rights have been breached and that there could be "extremely adverse and devastating consequences for many thousands of older people if other councils take similar decisions to save money".
  • (12) And then, as the Guardian revealed at the weekend, there is the potentially devastating effect of the boundary changes, which can’t really be brought in before an early election but will radically tilt the field by 2020.
  • (13) He said: "[That] could be devastating for the renewables industry.
  • (14) To say that the loss of BB King is devastating to the blues community is an understatement.
  • (15) 'Devastated' Peter Greste calls on Egypt's president to pardon trio Read more “It’s ironic that the conviction was for tarnishing Egypt’s reputation when ... this [case] is what’s tarnished Egypt’s image,” Clooney told BBC News.
  • (16) The report, extracts of which were published by the investigative news website Exaro , is said to include “devastating detail” of the corporation’s “sheer scale of awareness” of the late star’s activities.
  • (17) Although anterior and posterior traumatic displacement of cervical vertebrae are commonly noted, and the devastating neurological deficits associated with these injuries have been amply defined, lateral displacement with fractures has been rarely recognized, and the clinical significance of this injury has been overlooked.
  • (18) Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Met commissioner, said a report revealing the undercover officers had spied on the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence was “devastating” for Scotland Yard and “one of the worst days that I have seen as a police officer”.
  • (19) The case for halting British arms sales to Saudi Arabia has been evident, not only on moral grounds, since civilians started dying in the conflict devastating Yemen.
  • (20) Devastating neurologic complications can be avoided or alleviated in a great proportion of patients undergoing radiation therapy for cerebral metastases and spinal cord compression.

Overwhelm


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To cover over completely, as by a great wave; to overflow and bury beneath; to ingulf; hence, figuratively, to immerse and bear down; to overpower; to crush; to bury; to oppress, etc., overpoweringly.
  • (v. t.) To project or impend over threateningly.
  • (v. t.) To cause to surround, to cover.
  • (n.) The act of overwhelming.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The following conclusions emerge: (i) when the 3' or the 3' penultimate base of the oligonucleotide mismatched an allele, no amplification product could be detected; (ii) when the mismatches were 3 and 4 bases from the 3' end of the primer, differential amplification was still observed, but only at certain concentrations of magnesium chloride; (iii) the mismatched allele can be detected in the presence of a 40-fold excess of the matched allele; (iv) primers as short as 13 nucleotides were effective; and (v) the specificity of the amplification could be overwhelmed by greatly increasing the concentration of target DNA.
  • (2) She added: “We will continue to act upon the overwhelming majority view of our shareholders.” The vote was the second year running Ryanair had suffered a rebellion on pay.
  • (3) T cells admixed in the germinal centers were overwhelmingly of the T-helper type.
  • (4) Unfortunately for the governor, he could win both states and still face the overwhelming likelihood of failure if he doesn't take Ohio, where the poll found Obama out front 51-43.
  • (5) In Britain, the European election is overwhelmingly seen through the prism of domestic politics.
  • (6) Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian Asked if Watson should seek to refresh his mandate after Corbyn’s overwhelming victory among members, McCluskey added: “Well, if Tom wants to try to refresh his mandate it would be interesting to see what happens.” Watson said it was time “to be proud of our party”, because the Conservatives were beatable and the prime minister, Theresa May, could call an election any time.
  • (7) The government acknowledged it had been overwhelmed by the devastation from the deadliest quake in Nepal in over 80 years.
  • (8) He made me laugh and cry, and his courage in writing about what he was going through was sometimes quite overwhelming.
  • (9) Although alpha 1-antiprotease (alpha 1-AP) binds and inactivates NE and is the major antielastase of the lower respiratory tract, antielastase defenses may be overwhelmed in CF, leading to progressive lung damage.
  • (10) And HAP has shown that the key finding that debt slows growth was driven overwhelmingly by the exclusion of four years of data from New Zealand.
  • (11) Cathepsin D-like acid proteinase existed overwhelmingly in the mucosal layer and was hardly detected in the gastric juice.
  • (12) Hence, reaction of chemical carcinogen with nuclear DNA is possible only when the cell is overwhelmed leading to cell death, or following a temporary breach of the nuclear membrane control points, but the DNA damage in the latter is totally reparable.
  • (13) The facts are clear: the overwhelming majority of EU citizens in Britain are contributors, not freeloaders.” But that was not the official position of any of the parties involved, so it went mostly unsaid.
  • (14) Of 54 patients with poor-grade aneurysms, ventriculostomy was placed in 47 (87.0%) and yielded high ICP's in the overwhelming majority, with the mean ICP being 40.2 cm H2O.
  • (15) There is overwhelming evidence, today, that such factors are involved in the manifestation of acute as well as chronic, non-specific as well as well as specific inflammation.
  • (16) Mobile phone networks, overwhelmed by demand, were down for hours, with authorities advising people to use email or text messages instead.
  • (17) The immunity was enacted by an overwhelming bipartisan vote, with the support of leading Democrats including Barack Obama, who had promised - when seeking his party's nomination - to filibuster any bill that contained retroactive telecom immunity.
  • (18) There’s an overwhelming sadness among kids like that who have been kept there for a very long time.
  • (19) Panic attacks would overwhelm her periodically and she experienced regular “ scanxiety ” – the feelings of dread that grip patients before new tests.
  • (20) In the meantime, Malaysia Airlines’ overwhelming focus will be the same as it has been from the outset – to provide the families with a comprehensive support programme.