overt

American  

[oh-vurt, oh-vurt] / oʊˈvɜrt, ˈoʊ vɜrt /

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.

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overt British  

/ əʊˈvɜːt, ˈəʊvɜːt /

adjective

1. open to view; observable

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

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Other Word Forms

• overtly adverb
• overtness noun
• unovert adjective

Etymology

Origin of overt

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

Example Sentences

Some young people are now being more overt on their dating profiles, revealing their faces and personal details including names, interests and universities attended.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

And second, even if they were unsuccessful in arguing that, they still have enough overt acts of the conspiracy within the statute limitation over the last five or six years.

From Slate • Jan. 7, 2026

"It's absolutely beautiful," says de Guitaut, "but I can't quite see an overt reference in it to be honest."

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

So I needed Wagner’s command of the screen, how the camera loves him, to see him thinking and emoting not in an overt way.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

Egged on by scheming courtiers and generals, relations between Atawallpa and Washkar spent several years swinging through the emotional valence from concealed suspicion to overt hostility.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• apparent
• definite
• undisguised