overwhelm vs arouse

overwhelm and arouse both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
overwhelm	No	No	Yes	No
arouse	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, arouse is a hypernym of overwhelm; that is, arouse is a word with a broader meaning than overwhelm:

Other hypernyms of overwhelm include elicit, enkindle, evoke, fire, kindle, provoke, raise.

overwhelm (verb)	arouse (verb)
charge someone with too many tasks	cause to be alert and energetic
overcome by superior force	cause to become awake or conscious
cover completely or make imperceptible	stop sleeping
overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli	summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
	call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
	to evoke sexual feelings
	to begin moving