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
Verb
-
Cathy’s, um, secretions Fennell’s tendency to shock us only lightly comes (sorry) into full effect when Cathy steals off to the moors to masturbate against a giant rock, overwhelmed by her feelings for Heathcliff.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026 -
This enables local food pantries to support as many individuals as possible without being overwhelmed by rising demand.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Whitaker and Perlah, who know about Louie’s advanced liver disease and see his care as routine, will be devastated to learn Louie is gone.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
-
See the aftermath from above Infrastructure devastated There have been reports of severe damage to the area's infrastructure, including the city's hospital, schools and businesses.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Takaichi’s popularity with voters helped more than 90% of LDP candidates win their seats, including 41 out of 43 of her colleagues who overcame the stain of financial scandals to secure voter support.—
Jeff Kingston,
Time,
15 Feb. 2026
-
France’s Mathis Desloges, who has taken two silvers so far, pulled his team into medal position during the third leg of the race, while Italy’s Federico Pellegrino overcame Finland in the anchor leg to take bronze on home soil in his last Olympics.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin refuses to be crushed beneath the pressure.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Internet shutdowns, mass arrests, intimidation through mourning and fear have crushed public mobilization — while negotiations with powerful states restore the regime’s standing on the global stage.—
Pegah Banihashemi,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
With many people around the world fighting for their freedom, Dallas’ historical cemetery stands as an example of how a group of people who were historically oppressed and enslaved could become free and prosperous.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Discussions with the creative team led to the idea of showing how oppressed the animals were.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
12 Jan. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Overmastered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overmastered. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
