overlord

[oh-ver-lawrd]

noun

1. a person who is lord over another or over other lords.

   to obey the will of one's sovereign and overlord.

2. a person of great influence, authority, power, or the like.

   the overlords of industry.

verb (used with object)

1. to rule or govern arbitrarily or tyrannically; domineer.

overlord

/ ˈəʊvəˌlɔːd /

noun

1. a supreme lord or master

Other Word Forms

• overlordship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of overlord¹

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200; over-, lord

Example Sentences

After the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, Mexico’s European overlords used its silver and its agricultural wealth to nourish their global enterprises.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Who wants dull stocks that merely make predictable profits and give them back to shareholders, when you could bet on the creation of our new robot overlords?

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And that their parents and others in their lives, documented or not, deserve dignity and compassion, no matter what the overlords do to deny them.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In that vein, maybe what today’s tech overlords are saying about AI to placate us will come true.

Read more on Salon

Yes, some of us will be harassed, imprisoned, or worse, but ultimately, the only answer to mass surveillance by those who want to be our overlords is open, mass defiance.

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