Overcome by vs. Overcome with

How to use "overcome by" and "overcome with" correctly

This is an entry on my list of Common Errors in English Usage. Visit the main page for direct links to additional entries.

One is overcome by a fact, situation, force, etc.:

overcome by exhaustion
overcome by the weight of his responsibility

One is overcome with an emotion:

overcome with joy at the beautiful sight
mourners overcome with grief

Common Errors in English Usage: Errors in diction and idiom commonly made by native speakers of English

List of Common Errors in English Usage (PDF): Printable version of the complete list

Common Grammar Errors: A list of common errors in grammar (topics like subject-verb agreement and parallelism) as distinct from usage