overt

[oh-vurt, oh-vurt]

adjective

1. open to view or knowledge; not concealed or secret.

   overt hostility.

   Synonyms: public, apparent, manifest, plain
   Antonyms: private

2. Heraldry.,  (of a device, as a purse) represented as open.

   a purse overt.

overt

/ əʊˈvɜːt, ˈəʊvɜːt /

adjective

1. open to view; observable

2. law open; deliberate. Criminal intent may be inferred from an overt act

Other Word Forms

• unovert adjective
• overtness noun
• overtly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of overt¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French, past participle of ouvrir to open < Vulgar Latin *ōperīre, for Latin aperīre

Word History and Origins

Origin of overt¹

C14: via Old French, from ovrir to open, from Latin aperīre

Example Sentences

But he added: "I never saw Farage being openly racist, antisemitic towards any individual…I'd be disappointed because I never thought of him as an overt racist."

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"These incidents sit alongside more overt forms of disability hate crimes and share the same underlying problem of hostility and exclusion."

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Martin’s dual role was a sign that pardons had become more overt political weapons.

Read more on Salon

The course, created in 2021, is an extension of Mercy Culture’s increasingly overt political activities that have included candidate endorsements.

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Instead, malicious activities that are often dubbed hybrid war or gray-zone conflict let the Kremlin challenge its adversaries without overt hostilities.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• apparent 
• definite 
• undisguised