whelm vs clutch

whelm is not a noun while clutch is a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
whelm	No	No	Yes	No
clutch	Yes	No	Yes	No

As verbs, clutch is a hyponym of whelm; that is, clutch is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than whelm:

Other hyponyms of whelm include devastate, get hold of, seize, kill, benight, knock out, stagger, lock.

whelm (noun)	clutch (noun)
	the act of grasping
	a coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism
	a pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism
	a woman's strapless purse that is carried in the hand
	a collection of things or persons to be handled together
	a number of birds hatched at the same time
	a tense critical situation

whelm (verb)	clutch (verb)
overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli	affect
to neither fail to meet nor exceed expectation	take into your hands deliberately
	hold firmly, usually with one's hands