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
  • Cruel and unaccountable events pile up, overwhelming any sense of normality.
    David Denby, New Yorker, 23 May 2025
  • The ‘Willy Wonka’ phase A sweet, sugary smell overwhelms the next pod at Goodblend. Gummies in hues of orange, red, yellow, green and blue sit on parchment paper a metal tray.
    Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 May 2025
Verb
  • Learning how to overcome your own anxiety is the first step to helping your kids do the same, said Robbins.
    Ashton Jackson, CNBC, 30 May 2025
  • The odds remain against them — only 16.1% of teams have overcome a 3-2 deficit in NBA playoff history — but the Knicks are coming off their best all-around performance of the series.
    Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 30 May 2025
Verb
  • Sand, breeze blocks, storm shutters—these are materials of survival and exclusion, shaped by the hurricanes that regularly devastate her homeland.
    Nargess Banks, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025
  • The Trump administration granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions Friday in a big first step toward fulfilling the president’s pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country devastated by civil war.
    Abby Sewell, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Overmaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overmaster. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.

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