overturn
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause (something) to turn onto its side, face, or back; upset.
to overturn a vase.
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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
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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)
noun
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the act of overturning.
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the state of being overturned.
verb
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to turn or cause to turn from an upright or normal position
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(tr) to overthrow or destroy
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(tr) to invalidate; reverse
the bill was passed in the Commons but overturned in the Lords
noun
Related Words
See upset.
Other Word Forms
- overturnable adjective
Etymology
Origin of overturn
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 decided to overturn a committee decision not to proceed with an Irish street sign at Onslow Gardens, off the Cregagh Road in east Belfast.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
Sauer kept returning to his claim that the lone purpose of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause was to overturn Dred Scott and grant citizenship to newly freed slaves and their children.
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026
Neither of these cases directly overturn the precedents in Massachusetts v.
From Salon • Mar. 25, 2026
Dr. Dorstyn noted that the findings overturn the assumption that inhibiting Caspase-2 is always beneficial.
From Science Daily • Mar. 23, 2026
Yet she knew tonight how difficult it was to overturn the earth, for she had tried once, and she had failed.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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.
