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
  • Still, on a partly sunny Saturday under a flood watch, dozens of volunteers overwhelmed a site near the Round Mountain Baptist Church outside of Leander, forcing traffic to a standstill as emergency personnel actively searched for missing people.
    Lily Kepner, Austin American Statesman, 13 July 2025
  • Inside, a black and grey cat thrashes around, overwhelmed.
    Kat Lonsdorf, NPR, 12 July 2025
Verb
  • Judicial confirmations were once a slower, more contentious process, often requiring 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
    Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 14 July 2025
  • For two decades, senior legislators and military leaders have been working, mostly without success, to overcome these problems.
    Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • She’s devastated by how badly water and air pollution have affected businesses, tourism and overall quality of life.
    Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 July 2025
  • John Tufts The Grand Canyon North Rim, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, has been devastated by the Dragon Bravo wildfire.
    John Tufts, IndyStar, 14 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Overmaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overmaster. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

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