as in to overwhelm
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress the student was overmastered by the stress of taking the college placement test and broke down crying

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of overmaster Passion is an intense, driving or overmastering feeling or conviction. Bird Brown, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 8 Dec. 2019 Jesus’ Son is about the force of addiction and the only thing that can overmaster it: the ecstatic experience of God. Longreads, 17 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overmaster
Verb
  • In my opinion, today's consumers are overwhelmed by noise—too many offers, messages and distractions.
    Ali Payani, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • The book was a tale of heroic resistance, but stretched across so many years of television, the bursts of rebellion were overwhelmed by long periods of suffering.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Republicans will need Democratic support to overcome a 60-vote threshold to be able to pass the bill in the Senate.
    John Parkinson, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Prior court decisions and guidance from the Department of Justice have set up hurdles to overcome before the court is forced to overpass a reporter’s privilege to protect sources.
    Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The floods have devastated local economies and communities.
    Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2025
  • In 2014, three West African countries were devastated by an Ebola outbreak that claimed more than 11,000 lives.
    Seth Berkley, Time, 27 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Overmaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overmaster. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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