overmaster

[ oh-ver-mas-ter, -mah-ster ]

verb (used with object)

1. to gain mastery over; conquer; overpower:

   The sudden impulse had quite overmastered me.

overmaster

/ ˌəʊvəˈmɑːstə /

verb

1. tr to overpower

Other Words From

• over·master·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of overmaster¹

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

Example Sentences

Howard Thurman said, “There is one overmastering problem that the socially and politically disinherited always face: under what terms is survival possible?”

From Salon

The second says a person shall not be found guilty of a crime if the person acted because of “a delusional compulsion” that “overmastered” her will.

From Seattle Times

There was no time to think of what might happen; a vague, overmastering fear obscured all details.

From Literature

He did teach physicians “to refuse to treat those who are overmastered by their diseases, realizing that in such cases medicine is powerless.”

From Washington Post

The reporters had at first been rather peevish at having been asked to risk their skins for old manuscripts, but they ended by being impressed by the scholar’s overmastering enthusiasm.

From The New Yorker

Related Words

• crush
• overthrow
• quell
• rout
• subdue
• subjugate
• surmount
• vanquish