overrule

verb

Definition of overrulenext
as in to reject
to decide that (something or someone) is wrong; to rule against (something or someone) The judge overruled the objection. His conviction was overruled by the supreme court.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of overrule The administration then asked the Supreme Court to overrule them. — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026 Then on Wednesday, Dino overruled his colleague and restored the two senior police officials to their posts. — ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026 Then on Wednesday, Justice Flávio Dino overruled his colleague and restored the two senior police officials to their posts. — Mauricio Savarese, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2026 But in 2024, the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals overruled the administrator, approving the special use permit for the shop by a 3-2 vote. — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for overrule
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overrule
  1. reject
  2. dismiss
  3. deny
  4. refuse
  5. withdraw
  6. ignore
Verb
  • Justice Brett Kavanaugh quickly rejected the appeal without seeing any need to refer it to his colleagues, and the matter appeared to be closed—for an hour or so, anyway.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
  • On the same day, Newsom also rejected a measure that would have stopped federal immigration enforcement officers from using their experience to obtain a state training waiver.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of reject
Verb
  • Tinubu was not criminally charged, and the case was dismissed with prejudice after the money was forfeited.
    — Adrian Elimian, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • After a Washtenaw County Court judge dismissed the suit, Shriver refiled the FOIA case in Michigan’s Court of Claims last month.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of dismiss
Verb
  • Russian forces are also trying to choke shipping in Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, denying Kyiv vital grain export revenue.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Now that the eleventh-hour challenge was denied, Paramount CEO David Ellison can move forward with closing the merger as planned.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of deny
Verb
  • Israel, which has refused to cooperate with the commission since it was established in 2021, has strenuously denied the accusations.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
  • El Sayed acknowledged that both Israel and Iran could cause harm but refused twice to rank one as the greater threat.
    — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of refuse
Verb
  • For the second straight year, Stephen King was the author most likely to have his work withdrawn.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Instead, Netflix released a statement shortly after withdrawing their bid.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of withdraw
Verb
  • Corbett said such arguments ignore Illinois’ long history of underfunding public schools, with the state providing only about a quarter of school districts’ revenue, according to the State Board of Education’s most recent Illinois Report Card.
    — Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The shame lies with the governments who ignored the AIDS crisis and the stigma that was around people and the innate prejudice that was in society.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of ignore

Browse Nearby Words

overrode
overrule
overruled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Overrule.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overrule. Accessed 13 Oct. 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 abscond

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Why do we call it a 'flea market'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

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
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All