overmaster

American

[oh-ver-mas-ter, -mah-ster] / ˌoʊ vərˈmæs tər, -ˈmɑ stər /

verb (used with object)

to gain mastery over; conquer; overpower.

The sudden impulse had quite overmastered me.

overmaster British

/ ˌəʊvəˈmɑːstə /

verb

(tr) to overpower

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

overmasteringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of overmaster

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; over-, master

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 a welcome reminder that even in the rankly toxic House of Representatives, sometimes the personal transcends the ideological and that civility and empathy can overmaster appearances.

From Slate • Jan. 25, 2012

Well," she said, "yet this is best; and of this I am sure, that, however they wrong me, they cannot overmaster God.

From Penshurst Castle In the Days of Sir Philip Sidney by Marshall, Emma

And how shall you, a single man, overmaster him?

From Tales of Wonder Every Child Should Know by Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith

It had begun so delicately; it became in a little while so determined, it threatened to overmaster him.

From The Wave An Egyptian Aftermath by Blackwood, Algernon

This was the foe—the stealthy-footed demon, that had at last come to overmaster the brave and noble Angus Rothesay.

From Olive A Novel by Bowers, G.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023