overt

adjective

ō-ˈvərt  ˈō-(ˌ)vərt 

: open to view : manifest

overt hostility

overt symptoms of the disease

overt discrimination

both overt and covert military action

overtness noun

Examples of overt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Endo’s footage consists merely of poetic glimpses of city streets and landscapes, but its very lack of overt political intent convinces Motoki that there must be some hidden key to Endo’s demise. —Jake Cole, IndieWire, 18 Aug. 2025

There was a Lynchian quality to the podcast, a fun-house-size absurdism that offset its overt offensiveness. —Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025

This tension is more pronounced in Death Stranding 2 than in the original, despite the sequel’s overt political arguments. —G Kirilloff, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025

At Saturday’s event, Peters worked in an overt dig at his former colleague in the state congressional delegation, who’s known for displaying whiteboards during committee hearings to illustrate her points. —Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from past participle of ovrir to open, from Vulgar Latin *operire, alteration of Latin aperire

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overt

• alert
• assert
• avert
• dessert
• divert
• evert
• exert
• inert
• insert
• invert
• nightshirt
• revert

Kids Definition

overt

adjective

ō-ˈvərt  ˈō-(ˌ)vərt 

: open to view : not secret

overt hostility

overtly adverb

overtness noun

Medical Definition

overt

adjective

ō-ˈvərt, ˈō-ˌvərt also ˈō-vərt

: open to view : readily perceived

overt behavior

overtly adverb