1
as in thwarting
to get the better of through cleverness
a real estate developer who is always trying to overreach his competitors, fair means or foul
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in exceeding
to go beyond the limit of
the mountain climbers overreached their abilities and paid for it dearly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overreaching
Now, who can stop the president from overreaching?
—
Ann Manov,
Harpers Magazine,
23 June 2026
During the McCarthy era, overreaching laws, surveillance, and public and private sector reprisals ostensibly targeted alleged communists.
—
Bruce Schneier,
The Conversation,
27 May 2026
Politically, the industry was equal parts liberal and libertarian, and was perhaps best reflected by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, created to protect the denizens of cyberspace from an overreaching government.
—
Jonathan Weber,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
The premiere audience gasped and snorted in disbelief as Stan and Reinsve suffer the indignity of an overreaching state — removing teens, tweens and an infant from their loving care.
—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
18 May 2026
The top 3 issues facing our communities in District 2 and San Diego are the high cost of living, crumbling infrastructure and overreaching outsiders.
—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
However, Dombeck is cautious about overreaching on BTSP’s significance.
—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Quanta Magazine,
24 Apr. 2026
The bill’s supporters frame it as a blow against overregulation, viewing it as a necessary bulwark against (supposedly) overreaching state animal welfare standards like Question 3.
—
John Cleveland,
Boston Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
The challenge is to thoughtfully manage the gap between innovation and execution, maintaining momentum without overreaching.
—
Ashwin Gaidhani,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Ann Manov,
Harpers Magazine,
23 June 2026
During the McCarthy era, overreaching laws, surveillance, and public and private sector reprisals ostensibly targeted alleged communists.
—
Bruce Schneier,
The Conversation,
27 May 2026
Politically, the industry was equal parts liberal and libertarian, and was perhaps best reflected by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, created to protect the denizens of cyberspace from an overreaching government.
—
Jonathan Weber,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
The premiere audience gasped and snorted in disbelief as Stan and Reinsve suffer the indignity of an overreaching state — removing teens, tweens and an infant from their loving care.
—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
18 May 2026
The top 3 issues facing our communities in District 2 and San Diego are the high cost of living, crumbling infrastructure and overreaching outsiders.
—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
However, Dombeck is cautious about overreaching on BTSP’s significance.
—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Quanta Magazine,
24 Apr. 2026
The bill’s supporters frame it as a blow against overregulation, viewing it as a necessary bulwark against (supposedly) overreaching state animal welfare standards like Question 3.
—
John Cleveland,
Boston Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
The challenge is to thoughtfully manage the gap between innovation and execution, maintaining momentum without overreaching.
—
Ashwin Gaidhani,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overreaching
Verb
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Yet, Rob-Will walked out of rehab, and is intent on thwarting the ceremonial ranch handover to heir-apparent Joaquin.
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Alexander defeated Slater for the X Division Championship a few weeks ago, thwarting Slater’s chance at becoming the longest reigning X Division champion of all time.
Verb
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Temperatures have reached a heat index exceeding 110 degrees.
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Ultimately, every hire should create value equal to or exceeding the investment the company makes in hiring, developing, and compensating them.
Verb
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Appearance, though, can be deceiving, but luckily, this shed is still packed with smart features and a clever design that will keep all your belongings safe.
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Here, however, the joke is that appearances can be deceiving — or to be more specific, that trying to act like a character in a movie is a reckless, unwise thing to do.
Verb
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The park discipline saw Japan's 15-year-old Mizuho Hasegawa achieve the highest women's park score ever recorded, surpassing reigning world champion Sky Brown.
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Lonnie has plenty stacked against him, not least of all his own son, who is inching closer to surpassing his status in the golf world — people are even starting to call him the Hawk, a torch that had to have been pried out of his father’s hand.
Verb
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The first ever major league game to be played in Europe resulted in the Yankees defeating the Red Sox 17-13 in front of 60,000 spectators at London Olympic Stadium.
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The team displayed impressive form in the preliminary tournament qualifiers, winning all eight of its matches, scoring 37 goals, and defeating four-time World Cup champions Italy twice.
Verb
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Two generals agreed with Ashley's characterization, stressing the view that on the front lines, Ukraine was outmaneuvering Russia.
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Rather than overpowering them with brute force, German forces managed to defeat the French and British forces in the Battle of France (1940) by simply outmaneuvering them.
Verb
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Forward-looking firms are overcoming this by deploying advanced technical strategies.
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Normal matter can’t be stuffed into a space tiny and dense enough without overcoming a huge outward pressure.
Verb
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Similar storm-clouds are now gathering around Sánchez, a canny politician known for outwitting his opponents.
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Bob Markle was good at outwitting violators.
Cite this Entry
“Overreaching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overreaching. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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