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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

Related Words for overmaster

subdue, rout, crush, quell, overthrow, surmount, vanquish, subjugate, control, lick, thwart, reduce, total, prevail, zap, cream, circumvent, overpower, outwit, master

Examples from the Web for overmaster

Contemporary Examples of overmaster

Historical Examples of overmaster

  • "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