Meanings
present singular third person overmasters · participle present overmastering · participle past overmastered · past overmastered
- transitiveTo overpower or overwhelm.
Sir Jasper started from his chair, ashamed of the sick fancies that had, for the moment, overmastered him.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “An Evening Alone”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 3031 more example
Did I forget! Shall I ever . . . can I ever! Can any of us ever forget that terrible scene! Mina struggled hard to keep her brave countenance, but the pain overmastered her and she put her hands before her face, and shuddered whilst she moaned.
1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*úp
- Proto-Indo-European*upér
- Proto-Germanic*uber
- Old Englishofer-
- Middle Englishover-
- Englishover-
- Old Frenchmaistre
- Latinmagister
- Old Englishmǣġester
- Middle Englishmaister
- Englishmaster
- Englishovermaster
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with overmaster
Anagrams
Cite this entry
overmaster. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overmaster
“overmaster.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overmaster. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overmaster,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overmaster.
Source: overmaster on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.