overbearing
Americanadjective
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domineering; dictatorial; haughtily or rudely arrogant.
-
of overwhelming or critical importance.
adjective
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domineering or dictatorial in manner or action
-
of particular or overriding importance or significance
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of overbearing
Explanation
Overbearing means domineering. You might find it difficult to play the piano as your overbearing instructor criticizes every key you touch. The adjective overbearing typically describes a person who is haughty and dictatorial. Someone considered to be overbearing or arrogant wouldn't be described as kind or modest, which are antonyms of overbearing. Overbearing also means “repressing or overwhelming.” Thomas Jefferson uses this definition in his decree, “If the freedom of religion, guaranteed to us by law in theory, can ever rise in practice under the overbearing inquisition of public opinion, then and only then will truth, prevail over fanaticism.”
Vocabulary lists containing overbearing
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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The Federalist Papers, No. 10 by James Madison
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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.
I mean, some are cliches because they are true: Overbearing fathers trying to dictate what’s best for their children.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026
Overbearing guests, boatmances and explosive fights, all while crammed into a couple rooms underwater, are part and parcel of the “Below Deck” franchise.
From New York Times • Oct. 31, 2022
Q. Re: Overbearing parents: My mother can be exactly as you discussed, although luckily she does not live nearby.
From Slate • Apr. 2, 2013
By Q. Overbearing, Creepy In-Law: My husband and I, newly married, recently moved to the same town in which his bachelor brother lives.
From Slate • Sep. 10, 2012
I think Overbearing Eurocentric Patriarchs would be perfect, but I don’t suggest it.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
