overpowering

O1V4E1R1P3O1W4E1R1I1N1G2

adjective

That overpowers; so strong as to be overwhelming.

Less commonScrabble 21

Meanings

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of overpower
adjectiveoverpowering (comparative more overpowering, superlative most overpowering)

comparative more overpowering · superlative most overpowering

  1. That overpowers; so strong as to be overwhelming.

    The fact that approximately 40% of spoken language at the cafeteria was not English, suggests that the effect of the near 100% English signage is far from overpowering.

    2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 12
    1 more example

    The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.

    1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
nounoverpowering (plural overpowerings)

plural overpowerings

  1. The process of something being overpowered.

    Each of these concepts can be used, and is used, to justify the various overpowerings and abuses that are typical of capitalism as we know it, pace the Enlightenment thinkers and any other ideal model.

    2012, Andrea Micocci, Moderation and Revolution, page 327

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveso strong as to be irresistible

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

overpowering. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overpowering

MLA

“overpowering.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overpowering. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overpowering,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overpowering.

Source: overpowering on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.