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
But the agency's conservative critics have long accused the CFPB of overreaching, punishing small lenders and harming businesses.
—
Stephan Bisaha, NPR, 21 Jan. 2026
Our norms and expectations are being shattered by an overreaching executive.
—Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 28 Nov. 2025
Our norms and expectations are being shattered by an overreaching executive.
—Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 25 Nov. 2025
That includes hackers lurking on public Wi-Fi, your internet service provider, or even an overreaching advertiser trying to build a profile on you.
—Ken Colburn, AZCentral.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Elected in 2012 amid the Tea Party movement, Massie has been a consistent critic of an overreaching federal government, of budget deficits and foreign interventionism.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 22 Oct. 2025
Chicago is either a war zone quickly spiraling out of control, or a peaceful city under siege by an overreaching federal government.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Starmer, along with members of his Labour government, has argued that education should be prioritized instead of overreaching government mandates.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Supporters hailed it as a safeguard against catastrophic risks; critics blasted it as overreaching and impossible to enforce at AI’s pace.
—The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2025
Stephan Bisaha, NPR, 21 Jan. 2026
Our norms and expectations are being shattered by an overreaching executive.
—Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 28 Nov. 2025
Our norms and expectations are being shattered by an overreaching executive.
—Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 25 Nov. 2025
That includes hackers lurking on public Wi-Fi, your internet service provider, or even an overreaching advertiser trying to build a profile on you.
—Ken Colburn, AZCentral.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Elected in 2012 amid the Tea Party movement, Massie has been a consistent critic of an overreaching federal government, of budget deficits and foreign interventionism.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 22 Oct. 2025
Chicago is either a war zone quickly spiraling out of control, or a peaceful city under siege by an overreaching federal government.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Starmer, along with members of his Labour government, has argued that education should be prioritized instead of overreaching government mandates.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Supporters hailed it as a safeguard against catastrophic risks; critics blasted it as overreaching and impossible to enforce at AI’s pace.
—The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overreaching
Verb
-
The ceiling thwarting her exceptional talent originated from the constraints of tradition.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Revolution is developing drugs that target a molecular driver of cancers known as RAS and its experimental drugs seek to block the driver, thereby thwarting common cancers including lung, pancreatic, and colon that have proven difficult to treat.—
Ed Silverman,
STAT,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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States that automatically send every report to police are far exceeding federal requirements, experts said.—
Shoshana Walter,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Shares of networking equipment company Cisco have rallied about 18% since reporting its latest quarter in mid-November, greatly exceeding the S & P 500 gain of about 2% over the same time period.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Your eyes aren't deceiving you.—
Jessica Farthing,
Southern Living,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The final score is a bit deceiving, as Pittsburgh led by 18 before the Cowboys rallied near the end.—
Greg Rajan,
Houston Chronicle,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The 43-point defeat was the worst in program history, surpassing a 31-point loss to Texas in 1984.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The country’s trade hit a record high last year, surpassing 3 trillion Malaysian ringgit ($780 billion).—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For the Chinese Communist Party, which stakes its claim to legitimacy on defeating Japanese invaders during World War II, that would be an unforgivable outrage.—
Andy Browne,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The Big Game Seattle Seahawks' players celebrate with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on February 8, 2026.—
Josephine Rozzelle,
CNBC,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Ian Terry won Big Brother season 14 at just 21 years old, becoming the show’s youngest champion after outmaneuvering veteran players with a quiet — but highly calculated — game.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Mamdani will lead a city of over 8 million people, the capital of media, finance and much else, whose annual budget tops $116 billion, after outmaneuvering rivals with decades more experience in a race that captured national attention.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Medical experts and public health leaders say overcoming hesitancy is key in preventing further spread in and around Charlotte, and preventing the rise of other infectious diseases.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Raised in a rural village four hours from the Algerian capital, Khelif sold scrap copper as a young girl to fund her training, overcoming significant economic and societal hurdles.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The characters here, though, are nowhere near so smart as those conniving pagans and can only dream of outwitting the sophisticated folk from the mainland, coming there with their talk of cake, and comfy chairs, and their lies.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2026
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Time and Numbers—there’s no outwitting them.—
Joy Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overreaching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overreaching. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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