overrule
Americanverb (used with object)
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overrules,
present (3rd person singular)
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overruled,
past participle, past
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overruling
present participle
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to rule against or disallow the arguments of (a person).
The senator was overruled by the committee chairman.
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to rule or decide against (a plea, argument, etc.); reject.
to overrule an objection.
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to prevail over so as to change the purpose or action.
a delay that overruled our plans.
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to exercise control or influence over.
belief in a beneficent deity that overrules the universe.
verb
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to disallow the arguments of (a person) by the use of authority
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to rule or decide against (an argument, decision, etc)
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to prevail over, dominate, or influence
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to exercise rule over
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overrulesimple
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overrulessimple
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have overruledperfect
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has overruledperfect
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am overrulingprogressive
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are overrulingprogressive
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is overrulingprogressive
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have been overrulingperfect progressive
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has been overrulingperfect progressive
Past
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overruledsimple
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had overruledperfect
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was overrulingprogressive
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were overrulingprogressive
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had been overrulingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overrule
Explanation
In a court of law, when a judge overrules, she disagrees with an attorney's objection and allows the opposing side to go ahead with a line of questioning. In courtroom dramas, you'll hear lawyers yelling, "Objection!" followed by a judge declaring, "Overruled!" When the court overrules an objection, they're considering the legality of what the opposing attorney was saying and whether the objection was legitimate. If there was a valid legal reason to object, the judge would say, "Sustained." Judges can also overrule previous decisions made by lower courts. Before gaining its legal meaning, overrule simply meant "rule over or govern."
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.
See Examples For:
The amendment was originally ratified in the wake of the Civil War specifically to overrule the infamy of the Dred Scott decision.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
She did overrule him, though, on a flowerscape he described as “minimal ’90s, minimal Japanese, minimalist Charlie Sheen in ‘Wall Street’ vibes.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Smith said he showed jurors that Moore lied when the ex-chief, who retired in 2024, testified that he hadn’t sought to overrule a disciplinary panel’s decision in Mehringer’s case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
Reddit also employs admins who can overrule moderators and delete subreddits.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Tatane appealed to the warden to overrule us, and in the midst of his speech, broke down and wept.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Slaughter, the majority opinion said the “Humphrey’s framework has not withstood the test of time” and the court therefore overrules it.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
The ruling overrules a previous Supreme Court judgment ruling known as Cheshire West.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
The agency overrules Vinay Prasad’s refusal to consider Moderna’s shot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
Shirani's results indicate that the fact that the active catalytic subunit overrules its inhibitory components is what's important, not a structural change in the kinase itself.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2024
That is to say the scion overrules the root in budding or grafting upon one or two year old seedlings.
From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Second Annual Meeting Ithaca, New York, December 14 and 15, 1911 by Northern Nut Growers Association
Pels, the DOJ spokesperson, told ProPublica that Faruqui “was wrong on the law” and noted that after the government appealed to the district’s chief judge, his order was overruled.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
His body will not be overruled by a blackout blind.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
A UC faculty task force recommended keeping the SAT in 2020, but the regents overruled it and voted to develop a UC-specific test that a committee later determined would take too long to create.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The lower courts would assume they still had to follow that precedent until it was overruled, rather than guess what a cryptic shadow docket order meant.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2026
I didn’t want to eat anything served by ghosts, but my hunger overruled my fear.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
Nick, from Warrington: All this talk of overruling VAR's recommendation for Cunha's goal, but it's actually refreshing to see a referee take ownership of a decision and stand by it.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Vinay Prasad, the head of the FDA vaccine and biologics division, issued the refusal, overruling FDA staff concerns about blocking a review.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
In reality, the chair’s power lies in agenda-setting, coalition-building, and communication, not in overruling the committee.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
Thune told Politico that overruling “would not be a good option” in completing the bill.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2025
“There must have been an overruling in Moscow,” Bundy said.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
