overmastered

verb

past tense of overmaster
as in overwhelmed
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

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for overmastered
  1. overwhelmed
  2. devastated
  3. overcame
  4. crushed
  5. oppressed
Verb
  • The awkward silence overwhelmed everyone until the major stepped in front of Helen.
    — Ron Farina, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Their campaigns emerged in the aftermath of Covid-19, when doctors and health officials were celebrated at first, overwhelmed by work and tragedy for years, and in some cases, targeted because of distrust or politics around their messages.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of overwhelmed
Verb
  • The elder Begay, speaking in Navajo, said she is emotionally devastated.
    — Adam Burke, NPR, 4 Nov. 2026
  • By comparison, the prewar sanctions that devastated Iran’s economy, hobbled its military, and discouraged it from seeking nuclear weapons were a bargain.
    — S. C. M. Paine, Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of devastated
Verb
  • Its weight got heavier and that weight overcame the plane’s capabilities.
    — Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Cutter Gauthier had his second career hat trick, scoring the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the Ducks overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Sunday night.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of overcame
Verb
  • Add 1 cup raw sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), and/or coarsely crushed raw nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, and/or hazelnuts) and stir to coat.
    — Rebecca Firkser, Bon Appetit Magazine, 2 Nov. 2026
  • And again, some millipedes can release defensive secretions that can irritate skin or stain surfaces if handled or crushed.
    — Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of crushed
Verb
  • At the sectarian level, Baptists ridiculed Quakers, Presbyterians oppressed Anabaptists.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Look what women can do when they’re not abused, oppressed, and angry about being abused and oppressed!
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of oppressed
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.

Browse Nearby Words

overmaster
overmastered
overmastering
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Overmastered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overmastered. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cockamamie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All