overturn
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overturns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overturned,
past participle, past
-
overturning
present participle
-
to cause (something) to turn onto its side, face, or back; upset.
to overturn a vase.
-
to destroy the power or validity of; overthrow; defeat: The new findings have not overturned the theory itself.
The conspiracy finally overturned the regime.
The new findings have not overturned the theory itself.
- Synonyms:
- conquer
-
to reverse (an official or legal decision).
Rather than accept defeat, the company filed a complaint in federal appeals court to overturn the ruling.
verb (used without object)
-
overturns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overturned,
past participle, past
-
overturning
present participle
noun
-
the act of overturning.
-
the state of being overturned.
verb
-
to turn or cause to turn from an upright or normal position
-
(tr) to overthrow or destroy
-
(tr) to invalidate; reverse
the bill was passed in the Commons but overturned in the Lords
noun
Synonym Usage
See upset.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overturnsimple
-
overturnssimple
-
have overturnedperfect
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has overturnedperfect
-
am overturningprogressive
-
are overturningprogressive
-
is overturningprogressive
-
have been overturningperfect progressive
-
has been overturningperfect progressive
Past
-
overturnedsimple
-
had overturnedperfect
-
was overturningprogressive
-
were overturningprogressive
-
had been overturningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overturn
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; see origin at over-, turn
Explanation
To overturn something is to either flip it upside down or to invalidate it. An amateur kayaker might overturn her boat, while a judge may decide to overturn a previous judgment. When you overturn a wheelbarrow or a tricycle, you literally turn it over. When judges overturn earlier rulings or voters overturn laws, they make them invalid, essentially reversing them. An earlier, more intense metaphorical meaning of this word was "violently overthrow a ruler or rulers." Overturn was originally used in the 13th century to describe a turning wheel.
Vocabulary lists containing overturn
Ban This Book
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This Week In Words: December 5–11, 2020
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5th Grade Government Vocabulary, List 2
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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 high court rejected Trump’s first attempt to overturn the verdict in June.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected for a second time President Donald Trump's attempt to overturn a jury judgment that he sexually assaulted and defamed writer E Jean Carroll.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
The possibility that gluons carry baryon number would overturn the standard simplified description found in many textbooks.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
It is the first time the Secretary of State for Justice's power to refer the decision to the High Court has been used to overturn a Parole Board decision.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
A critic, Ignatius Pardies, called Newton’s paper ‘a most ingenious hypothesis’, ‘an extraordinary hypothesis’ which, if true, would overturn the foundations of optics.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
However, the KMI Panel unanimously supported the non-VAR intervention, stating that it was "in keeping with the high threshold for VAR overturns".
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
The decision overturns the seizure of Nexperia by Karremans’ ministry from its Chinese owner, Wingtech Technology, late in September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
Published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, the study overturns the traditional view of the "Boring Billion," a supposedly uneventful period of Earth's history marked by little biological or geological activity.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2025
A bear that overturns your trash can and figures out how to get your leftovers isn't "adapting"; it's just repurposing a behavior that evolved in its natural or ancestral environment.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2025
“There we have an opinion that overturns three hundred and seventy-five years of critical appreciation. Is there a particular reason that you find it ‘stupid’?”
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
The attack immediately overturned life for both Ms. Eubanks and her partner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The Amicus bonus episode revisits a 2021 conversation among Dahlia Lithwick, Judge Edward M. Chen, and Don Tamaki, members of the legal team that overturned Korematsu v.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
A retrial briefly reinstated their convictions in 2014, but Italy's top court overturned them again in 2015.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
That decision made Brooks eligible for up to $480,000 under a program created by Louisiana lawmakers to pay those wrongfully convicted in a state with one of the highest rates of overturned guilty verdicts.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
The cart of a fruit-and-vegetable seller had overturned in the road ahead of them.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Together, the evidence from several ocean basins connected movements of the Southern Ocean front with changes in Atlantic temperature layers and overturning circulation.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
The appeals court did not rule on the ultimate merits of the case but concluded the administration had not shown it was likely to succeed in overturning the injunction at this stage.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Ashley Baxter said he was "baffled, disappointed and outraged" by the situation and said his council would explore ways of overturning the decision.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The Interior Department finalized the changes to its regulations last week, overturning five decades of precedent in how the law is interpreted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
While Ralph and Ryan were enjoying a commercial for a truck that could zigzag without overturning, Matt strolled into a room called the Jumping Frog Lounge and returned with a handful of popcorn.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
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.
