# underwhelm

> English word · Verb

## Definitions
1. To fail to impress; to perform disappointingly.

## Etymology
From under- + whelm: a humorous coinage by novel negation of overwhelm first recorded in the 1950s.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/underwhelm