underˈwhelm, v. joc.
[f. under-1 10 a, after overwhelm v.]
trans. To leave unimpressed, to arouse little or no interest in. Chiefly as underˈwhelmed pa. pple. and ppl. a., and underˈwhelming ppl. a.
| 1956 T. K. Quinn Giant Corporations viii. 61 He wrote..commending the action of one of the giant corporations for a..price reduction at a time when prices were rising. I was underwhelmed, and investigated. 1968 Punch 17 July 81/2, I agree that the wretched parents are not to be penalised till 1969 and I'm sure they are under-whelmed with gratitude. 1970 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 3 July 47/1 Victoria Fair got off to a quite underwhelming start..with a concert in the University of Victoria gym. 1972 Times Lit. Suppl. 29 Dec. 1569/4 Both the prose and the play are underwhelming. 1978 Ottawa Citizen 2 Mar. 3/3 The Sparks Street post office ran out of applications..but a survey of other post offices..showed the public was generally underwhelmed. 1984 Observer 15 Jan. 9/3 He was..fluent in speech and crashingly dull. If there was an opportunity to be underwhelming, he unfailingly seized it. |