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.

It was a welcome reminder that even in the rankly toxic House of Representatives, sometimes the personal transcends the ideological and that civility and empathy can overmaster appearances.

From Slate • Jan. 25, 2012

As I came out of it a voice seemed constantly saying, "You are getting worse; your paroxysms are growing longer and deeper; they will overmaster you; you will die."

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. XVI., December, 1880. by Various

I was unreasonably angry with Neville that day, but I never guessed that my passion would overmaster me to that extent.

From Our Bessie by Carey, Rosa Nouchette

Her form was shaken with emotion so strong as to almost overmaster her.

From Out of a Labyrinth by Lynch, Lawrence L.

His heart beat nervously, the task before him seemed to overmaster him, and he shrank from it; with one hand he felt Jack’s letter, lying like an asp in his breast coat pocket.

From Only One Love, or Who Was the Heir by Garvice, Charles

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