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

There’s an overt praising of police as a moral arbiter. —J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025

Genesis recently previewed the GV90 with the Neolun Concept SUV, which was a profile in elegance rather than overt athleticism. —Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025

But while Lamar has mostly used his art to express his sentiments, Bad Bunny has been more overt about his dissatisfaction with the current administration. —Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025

The map carves Kansas City into three Republican-leaning districts, an overt example of partisan gerrymandering or the practice of redrawing electoral district boundaries to favor one party over another. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 25 Sep. 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