bombarded

Bombarded is the past tense and past participle of the verb bombard. It has two main senses. The primary sense refers to an attack on a place with bombs or heavy artillery, typically in a military or historical context. The secondary, figurative sense means to overwhelm someone with a large number of questions, requests, pieces of information, or other stimuli.

Etymology and evolution: The verb derives from the military term bombard, which referred to a siege weapon used in the Middle Ages and early modern period. The word spread into English via French and Italian forms, developing into the general sense of striking with force or intensity and, later, into the figurative usage common today.

Usage and examples: In its literal sense, a city can be bombarded during a conflict, with bombardments causing damage and casualties. In its figurative sense, individuals or groups can be bombarded with stimuli: for example, a person can be bombarded with questions after a press conference or bombarded with emails and advertisements online. The typical constructions are be bombarded with something and be bombarded by someone or something. The agent in a passive construction is often introduced with by (e.g., a city was bombarded by enemy forces), while the stimulus is introduced with with (e.g., bombarded with requests).

Context and nuance: Bombarded conveys intensity and persistence and is most often used for overwhelming force or information rather than a single event. It appears in journalism, history, and everyday language, highlighting situations of sustained pressure or attack.