Synonyms

overmaster

American

[oh-ver-mas-ter, -mah-ster] / ˌoʊ vərˈmæs tər, -ˈmɑ stər /

verb (used with object)

to gain mastery over; conquer; overpower.

The sudden impulse had quite overmastered me.

overmaster British

/ ˌəʊvəˈmɑːstə /

verb

(tr) to overpower

"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

Other Word Forms

overmasteringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of overmaster

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; over-, master

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.

Howard Thurman said, “There is one overmastering problem that the socially and politically disinherited always face: under what terms is survival possible?”

From Salon

The second says a person shall not be found guilty of a crime if the person acted because of “a delusional compulsion” that “overmastered” her will.

From Seattle Times

Mina struggled hard to keep her brave countenance; but the pain overmastered her and she put her hands before her face, and shuddered whilst she moaned.

From Literature

He did teach physicians “to refuse to treat those who are overmastered by their diseases, realizing that in such cases medicine is powerless.”

From Washington Post

The reporters had at first been rather peevish at having been asked to risk their skins for old manuscripts, but they ended by being impressed by the scholar’s overmastering enthusiasm.

From The New Yorker

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023