as in exceeding
to go beyond the limit of
the principal overstepped her authority in ordering everyone to remain in the unheated school
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Recent Examples of overstepping
That's definitely overstepping by all of your coworkers.
—
Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Various new laws and regulations are starting to appear because of viewpoints that AI is overstepping its suitable bounds.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Their legal battle related to business continued, and in November 2023, Blackstock was ordered to pay Clarkson $2,641,374 for overstepping in his managerial role and unlawfully procuring deals that a talent agent should've handled.
—Jordana Comiter, People.com, 7 Aug. 2025
After Republicans retook the House in 2010, the view among conservatives was that President Barack Obama was overstepping his powers out of frustration with congressional inaction.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Coaches must navigate bureaucracy, enhance influence without overstepping and align personal growth with organizational values to balance individual and collective priorities.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
Then, the series shows a doctor overstepping ethical bounds and taking justice into her own hands.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
Similarly, Focus on the Family addressed the issue of overstepping in-laws, noting that while empathy for their emotions is important, couples need to be firm in their decisions.
—Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
Normally Congress could exercise its authority to prevent the president overstepping his power, but the Republican majority hasn't signaled its willingness to do such a thing, according to Levitt; instead, some Republicans are beginning to propose just the opposite.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 9 Feb. 2025
Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Various new laws and regulations are starting to appear because of viewpoints that AI is overstepping its suitable bounds.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Their legal battle related to business continued, and in November 2023, Blackstock was ordered to pay Clarkson $2,641,374 for overstepping in his managerial role and unlawfully procuring deals that a talent agent should've handled.
—Jordana Comiter, People.com, 7 Aug. 2025
After Republicans retook the House in 2010, the view among conservatives was that President Barack Obama was overstepping his powers out of frustration with congressional inaction.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Coaches must navigate bureaucracy, enhance influence without overstepping and align personal growth with organizational values to balance individual and collective priorities.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
Then, the series shows a doctor overstepping ethical bounds and taking justice into her own hands.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
Similarly, Focus on the Family addressed the issue of overstepping in-laws, noting that while empathy for their emotions is important, couples need to be firm in their decisions.
—Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
Normally Congress could exercise its authority to prevent the president overstepping his power, but the Republican majority hasn't signaled its willingness to do such a thing, according to Levitt; instead, some Republicans are beginning to propose just the opposite.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 9 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overstepping
Verb
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With a range exceeding 250 kilometers (155 miles), the HQ-9C is the backbone of China’s strategic air defense.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
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The costs of certifying a building as exceeding legal requirements for energy efficiency, for example, are seen as high points not excesses because efficiencies serve another agenda.—
Roger Valdez,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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World leaders and scientists hoped to avoid surpassing this threshold under the Paris Agreement.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile both warring parties have been accused of mass human rights abuses, with the death toll of the conflict likely surpassing 400,000.—
Brendan Ruberry,
semafor.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overstepping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overstepping. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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