spilling over
Pouring past brim
Spilling over describes liquid exceeding a container's capacity and flowing out: The bathtub was spilling over onto the floor.
More often figurative—emotions, effects, or activity extending beyond their original bounds: Her enthusiasm was spilling over, Violence from the conflict is spilling over into neighboring countries.
The image is of abundance or excess that can't be contained.
- pourSend liquid streaming out
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- brimmingFull to the top
- overflowExceed capacity and spill
- surgingRising with sudden force
too full · cascading · flood · splash · leak · contagion · ripple effect · teeming · drip · discharge · seepage · bursting at the seams · effusion · gushing · cup · banks · proliferation · overspilling
- fullnessfull, empty, half-full, filled, half-empty
- At My Limitfed up, had it, last straw, breaking point, done
- size changesenlarge, enlargement, expand, expansion, shrink
spilling overcontained
Kept within limits
staying put · bottled up · held back · penned in · enclosed
spilling overbottled up
Emotions kept hidden inside
held in · suppressed · restrained · contained · repressed