as in hearing
to listen to (another in private conversation)
it's not polite to try to overhear intimate friends sharing confidences
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overhearing
Flight tracking website FlightAware showed there were 125 flight cancellations at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, but neither Perez nor Cordova could recall seeing or overhearing any passenger complaints.
—
Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 8 Nov. 2025
The celebratory July 4 meal would certainly have kept the innkeeper, Daniel Smith, busy replenishing the finest bottles of Madeira from behind the locked bar—perhaps overhearing snippets of chatter among the delegates.
—Victoria Flexner, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025
In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly about reuniting with Home Improvement costar Tim Allen, 72, on Shifting Gears, Dunning recalled overhearing Allen entertaining the idea of bringing Pamela Anderson back to the series in some capacity.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 8 Nov. 2025
The celebratory July 4 meal would certainly have kept the innkeeper, Daniel Smith, busy replenishing the finest bottles of Madeira from behind the locked bar—perhaps overhearing snippets of chatter among the delegates.
—Victoria Flexner, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025
In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly about reuniting with Home Improvement costar Tim Allen, 72, on Shifting Gears, Dunning recalled overhearing Allen entertaining the idea of bringing Pamela Anderson back to the series in some capacity.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overhearing
Verb
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Long before making music of his own, Harper spent time consuming the works of his famous relatives and hearing about their times in the studio and on the road.—
Jack Irvin,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
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But after hearing her story, an NPR listener reached out and paid her overdue balance.—
NPR,
NPR,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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They were linked in a secret video shown to Party members to a Cuban businessman accused of spying for Spain, though they were never charged.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
3 Nov. 2025
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In 2024, 64 people in Taiwan were prosecuted for spying for China—more than the previous two years combined—with principal targets being current or former military personnel.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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France’s national anti-terror prosecutor’s office is also monitoring the case, BFMTV said.—
Sana Noor Haq,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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There also are characters straight from the David Lynch school of the bizarre, including the menacing figure who warns Ron to stop snooping around and the bearer of a disturbing story about a manufacturing job that requires being nude.—
Julie Hinds,
Freep.com,
10 Oct. 2025
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As Mercury and Pluto clash, snooping in someone’s business lands you in hot water.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overhearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overhearing. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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