overbear
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bear over or down by weight or force.
With his superior strength he easily overbore his opponent in the fight.
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to overcome or overwhelm.
A spirited defense had overborne the enemy attack.
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to prevail over or overrule (wishes, objections, etc.).
She overbore all objections to the new plan.
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to treat in a domineering way; dominate.
to overbear one's children with threats of violence.
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Nautical. (of a sailing ship) to have the advantage of (another sailing ship) because of an ability to carry more canvas safely.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to dominate or overcome
to overbear objections
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(tr) to press or bear down with weight or physical force
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to produce or bear (fruit, progeny, etc) excessively
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of overbear
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I know that it is easy to overbear a person’s mind if you continuously barrage them with questions and accuse them.
From New York Times ● Nov. 25, 2011
But just because Karl Malden won't be brought to overbear on this doesn't mean Amex considers it unimportant.
From Time Magazine Archive
The tree is hardy, a rapid grower, comes into bearing early, and is, if anything, inclined to overbear.
From Fruits of Queensland by Albert H. Benson
Refer him to me; say the point is too difficult for you; that while your feelings for your niece might overbear all other considerations, those very feelings might be the sources of error to you.
From A Rent In A Cloud by Charles James Lever
Or doing what may I have might such toil to overbear?'
From The Æneids of Virgil Done into English Verse by William Morris
"The current system is not fit for purpose. It is an overbearing mess and urgently needs to be reviewed," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Jumping between past and present, the film tells the story of Alex Serian, a cellist who moves to Los Angeles to care for his dying mother and escape an overbearing ex played by Olivia Wilde.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
François-Pierre Couture’s scenic design is mesmerizing without ever being overbearing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
It is both lonely and silent, with the players on their own as they compete, unless they have an overbearing coach yelling at them from the sidelines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
In the heat they produced—a humid, overbearing swelter—the smell of sour mildew seemed to rise from everything.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
He had thundered against the King and the King's trusted Ministers, the Walpoles and the Carterets, with a voice that overbore all others, and which apparently could not be silenced.
From Lord Chatham His Early Life and Connections by Archibald Phillip Primrose Rosebery
And then the nearness of the roadlights and the sense of his own extreme helplessness overbore his instinct, and kicking off his shoes, he sped noiselessly over grassy slopes.
From "Persons Unknown" by Virginia Tracy
It was in defense of his ideas of justice that he overbore opposition.
From Robert Toombs Statesman, Speaker, Soldier, Sage by Pleasant A. Stovall
Garnett protested feebly, but the old man overbore him triumphantly.
From Grey Town An Australian Story by Gerald Baldwin
She stood for a trifle, hesitant, peering into the hallway now dark with evening shadow; then curiosity overbore her reluctance.
From The Bandbox by Louis Joseph Vance
Watts was "obsessed" with Sansom, but it was not a case of "one person's will being overborne by another", the judge added.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2025
They were not overborne by the implications of Communist military power.
From Time Magazine Archive
Charles Cherry is the over-bearing husband who is finally overborne.
From Time Magazine Archive
But Rains was all but overborne by the wooden acting of Hollywood Starlet Marisa Pavan.
From Time Magazine Archive
One by one the few scientific men who still held out were overborne by the weight of evidence.
From Pioneers of Evolution from Thales to Huxley With an Intermediate Chapter on the Causes of Arrest of the Movement by Edward Clodd
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
