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
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Related 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.
After ten years of gathering and studying data, an international team of physicists that included researchers from Rutgers has overturned a long-standing idea about a mysterious type of particle.
From Science Daily
The Supreme Court unanimously overturned the firm’s criminal conviction in 2005.
The evidence of sound on the technology was not enough to overturn the on-field decision.
From BBC
Together they played key roles in the successful legal fight to overturn California’s ban on gay marriage, which helped lead to the U.S.
He also helped overturn Proposition 8, California’s brief ban on gay marriage.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
