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overmaster

[oh-ver-mas-ter, -mah-ster]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to gain mastery over; conquer; overpower: The sudden impulse had quite overmastered me.
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Origin of overmaster

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at over-, master
Related formso·ver·mas·ter·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for overmaster

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "He has fainted," said Tom, not allowing the worse fear to overmaster him.

    We Two

    Edna Lyall

  • The coward is not the man who is afraid, but the man who allows his fear to overmaster him.

  • He longed to cry to her from his soul, to crush her body against his, to overmaster her.

    Dubliners

    James Joyce

  • Scoundrels dictate laws to the Convention, which they overmaster.

  • Again he sought to take her, to hold her and overmaster her.

    The Air Trust

    George Allan England

British Dictionary definitions for overmaster

overmaster

verb
  1. (tr) to overpower
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for overmaster

v.

mid-14c., from over- + master (v.). Related: Overmastered; overmastering.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper