as in main
coming before all others in importance
a matter that should be given overmastering priority by the incoming administration
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in overwhelming
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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overmastering
Adjective
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The golden flying snake bears two main color morphs — a green-yellow form sports bold black streaks and occasional reddish dorsal spots, and another form where the same base hues are overlaid with subtler crossbars.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025 -
It was later expanded to include four main ventilation channels (and some 50,000 smaller shafts) serving seven levels, which could be closed off from the inside with a large rolling stone.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
31 May 2025
Verb
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An adventurous mix of fabrics brings warmth to the primary suite, without overwhelming the space.—
Kristen Flanagan,
Architectural Digest,
31 Mar. 2025
-
That’s overwhelming even for the most experienced investor.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Nathan struggled in limited playoff action, but few closers in MLB history have been as consistently dominant in the regular season.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
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Stewart has been quietly dominant to start the season, averaging 18.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists shooting 54.1% from the field.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
But the predominant theme of the debate was Cuomo facing attacks from the eight other candidates, who laced into him on everything from public safety and education to affordable housing production and the ex-governor’s integrity.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2025
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Apparently natural selection among the Uru, Aymara and Quechua peoples of the Bolivian Altiplano took DNA sequences that are present but rare in other populations around the world and increased their frequency to the point where the normally uncommon sequences are predominant in these groups.—
Kermit Pattison,
Scientific American,
20 May 2025
Adjective
-
The gluteus medius muscle, a smaller buttock muscle located underneath the gluteus maximus, is the primary muscle supporting the pelvis. 4.—
Aubrey Bailey,
Verywell Health,
5 June 2025
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Joe Schoen and Daboll already are giving a ton of key players days and weeks off this spring, limiting the football that some of their primary contributors are playing.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
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The foremost conflict playing out across the Middle East today is between Israel and Iran, a nation that already possesses a sophisticated and large-scale nuclear program.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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There are not enough smart Americans alone to remain supreme in scientific research.—
Jim Nowlan,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2025
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Iran’s supreme leader has also downplayed the prospect of an imminent agreement with the U.S. on its nuclear capabilities, despite Trump’s public optimism.—
Brett Samuels,
The Hill,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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This was bricolage in the mode of postmodernism, to use a term that Jencks had a leading role in propagating, defining it in multiple competing and overlapping (some would say maddening) ways.—
Glenn Adamson,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
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Shue returned to acting in the 2010s and has had leading roles on several shows — including Super Pumped, On the Verge, The Boys and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation — as well as in films such as Battle of the Sexes (2019), Greyhound (2020) and The Good Half (2023).—
Keith Langston,
People.com,
1 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Overmastering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overmastering. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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