an overwhelming mass

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "an overwhelming mass" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a large quantity or a significant amount of something that is difficult to manage or comprehend. Example: "The protest drew an overwhelming mass of people, filling the streets and making it impossible to move."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

The limited DNA binding capacity, hypothesized to result from an overwhelming mass of protein overloading the monolith phase, severely limits the clinical utility, which will require a whole blood DNA capacity orders of magnitude larger.

Journal of Chromatography A

She hardly needs an introduction: in the late 1960s, she pioneered and forcefully pushed the symbiogenetic theory of the eukaryotic cell (Sagan1967; Margulis1970), revolutionary at that time, but today confirmed by an overwhelming mass of researches and data, renewed and deepened at the molecular level in the genomic era (Margulis & Sagan2003)a.

Evolution: Education and Outreach

The result: candidates who "can't compete with an overwhelming mass of money at the end that swamps the close races".

Huffington Post

In an effort to make sense of an overwhelming mass of data, they resorted to the then-innovative strategy of compiling a database.

Wikipedia

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

53 human-written examples

It is an overwhelming sight.

Huffington Post

There, Rattle established the repertoire with which he would change life in Berlin: in addition to a Mahler cycle and the Austro-Germanic staples, there was Dvorak, Bartok, an overwhelming Glagolitic Mass by Janacek and, perhaps above all, Sibelius, whose symphonies he recorded in Birmingham to a level no one has since achieved.

The Guardian

It's all an artful distillation process the ability to take the overwhelming mass of visual data that is this world and mine it for some digestible quantity of highly potent imagery.

Vice

This is some of the overwhelming mass of material remaining from a dynastic system that gave way to democracy and the European struggle for national self-determination.

The New York Times - Travel

"You could argue that someone who has been arguing inevitability and overwhelming mass and structure, and money, that a campaign like that is more susceptible to a collapse than we are when challenged repeatedly".

Huffington Post

Resistance encountered when backing into a parking space can be eliminated by your new S.U.V.'s overwhelming mass and engine power.

The New Yorker

The overwhelming mass of offences are minor and occur on the borderline of antisocial behaviour.

The Guardian - Opinion

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "an overwhelming mass" to describe something that is not only large in quantity but also creates a feeling of being burdened or difficult to handle. For example, "an overwhelming mass of data" suggests the data is difficult to analyze.

Common error

Avoid using "an overwhelming mass" to describe something purely positive. The phrase implies a sense of being burdened or challenged by the quantity, so it's not suitable for describing purely desirable situations.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "an overwhelming mass" primarily functions as a noun phrase, where "overwhelming" acts as an adjective modifying the noun "mass". It describes a quantity or amount of something that is so large as to be difficult to handle or process. Ludwig examples illustrate this use across various contexts.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

25%

Wiki

25%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "an overwhelming mass" is a noun phrase used to describe a large quantity or amount that is difficult to handle or process. Ludwig's analysis, consistent with its AI evaluation of the phrase being correct and usable, highlights its prevalence in neutral to formal contexts, particularly in news and science. While alternatives like "a tremendous amount" or "a vast quantity" exist, this specific phrase emphasizes the burden associated with the sheer size of something. Using this phrase appropriately involves recognizing its connotation of being challenged or burdened by the quantity being described.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a tremendous amount

Emphasizes the size or scale; less focused on the feeling of being burdened.

a vast quantity

Highlights the extent and scope of the amount.

an immense volume

Stresses the capacity or space occupied; less about the emotional impact.

a mountain of

Uses a metaphor to describe a large quantity, focusing on size and difficulty.

a great deal

A common and slightly less intense way to indicate a large amount.

a sea of

Evokes a vast, expansive quantity, typically used for things that spread out.

a plethora

Suggests abundance and variety, rather than just sheer size.

a profusion

Implies a rich and extravagant supply or quantity.

a surplus of

Indicates an excess or oversupply, implying there's more than what is needed.

an abundance

Focuses on having more than enough; may not always imply being overwhelmed.

FAQs

How can I use "an overwhelming mass" in a sentence?

Use "an overwhelming mass" to describe something large and difficult to manage or process. For instance, "The investigator faced an overwhelming mass of evidence".

What are some alternatives to "an overwhelming mass"?

Depending on the context, you could use alternatives like "a tremendous amount", "a vast quantity", or "an immense volume".

Is it appropriate to use "an overwhelming mass" in formal writing?

Yes, "an overwhelming mass" is appropriate for formal writing, especially when describing challenges presented by large quantities of information or material. Ludwig's AI indicates the phrase's acceptability.

What feeling does "an overwhelming mass" convey?

The phrase conveys a feeling of being burdened or challenged by the sheer size or quantity of something. It suggests that the thing described is difficult to manage or comprehend.