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
- overbearer noun
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.
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
He looked soldierly; but the soldier in him did not really very much overbear the demeanour of the quiet, ordinary gentleman.
From The Dictator by McCarthy, Justin
The forbidding faces are Fates to overbear and blemish true fellowship.
From Transcendentalism in New England A History by Frothingham, Octavius Brooks
He was the finest-tempered, most generous creature in the world, where no attempt to overbear interfered; but any show of offensive superiority would make a tiger of him.
From Tony Butler by Lever, Charles James
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.
