GRAMMAR DETAIL

〜あまり

so ... that · out of excessive

Indicates that an excessively strong feeling or state causes an unintended result.

Examples

緊張のあまり、名前を言い間違えた。

I was so nervous that I said the wrong name.

うれしさのあまり、思わず声を上げた。

I was so happy that I cried out without thinking.

心配のあまり、何度も電話をかけた。

I was so worried that I called several times.

Structure: のあまり follows a noun for a feeling or state and shows that its excessive intensity produced the following result.
Basic usage: 緊張のあまり、名前を言い間違えた。 describes unintentionally saying the wrong name because of excessive nervousness.

Different from the negative adverb
- 心配のあまり電話した makes excessive worry the reason for calling. In あまり電話しない, あまり works with the negative to mean that the person does not call much, so the structure is different.
The feeling need not be negative
- Joy can also be the cause, as in うれしさのあまり声を上げた. The point is that an intense feeling leads to a result, not that either the feeling or the result must be bad.