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
  • Don't let the stress overwhelm the joy of the occasion—remember, some nerves are good!
    Boutayna Chokrane, Vogue, 20 Apr. 2025
  • Medical services are overwhelmed by the number of those injured, including civilians.
    Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 19 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
  • On March 6, Sadia Raja was devastated to learn from a neighbor that her pet of 3 1/2 years, Carrot, was killed by a speeding car near her home in the Italian Villages section of Coral Gables, a historic neighborhood near Coral Gables Senior High inspired by Italian farm houses.
    Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
  • The deadly storm devastated parts of Western North Carolina with storm damage and catastrophic flooding.
    Simone Jasper, Charlotte Observer, 14 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Overmaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overmaster. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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