OVERPOWER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does overpower mean? 

• OVERPOWER (verb)
  The verb OVERPOWER has 2 senses:

1. overcome by superior force

2. overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli

  Familiarity information: OVERPOWER used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OVERPOWER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they overpower    ... he / she / it overpowers   
Past simple: overpowered   
Past participle: overpowered   
-ing form: overpowering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Overcome by superior force

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

overmaster; overpower; overwhelm

Hypernyms (to "overpower" is one way to...):

beat; beat out; crush; shell; trounce; vanquish (come out better in a competition, race, or conflict)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "overpower"):

steamroll; steamroller (overwhelm by using great force)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The fighter managed to overpower his opponent

Sense 2

Meaning:

Overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

overcome; overpower; overtake; overwhelm; sweep over; whelm

Hypernyms (to "overpower" is one way to...):

arouse; elicit; enkindle; evoke; fire; kindle; provoke; raise (call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "overpower"):

devastate (overwhelm or overpower)

clutch; get hold of; seize (affect)

kill (overwhelm with hilarity, pleasure, or admiration)

benight (overtake with darkness or night)

knock out (overwhelm with admiration)

stagger (astound or overwhelm, as with shock)

lock (hold fast (in a certain state))

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

 Context examples 

Overpowered by this time with weariness, I scarcely noticed what sort of a place the bedroom was, except that, like the schoolroom, I saw it was very long.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I was prepared for something strange, but not for so overpowering a personality as this.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mrs. Bennet was in fact too much overpowered to say a great deal while Sir William remained; but no sooner had he left them than her feelings found a rapid vent.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Mrs Clay's affections had overpowered her interest, and she had sacrificed, for the young man's sake, the possibility of scheming longer for Sir Walter.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Having introduced him, however, and being all reseated, the terrors that occurred of what this visit might lead to were overpowering, and she fancied herself on the point of fainting away.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

The night was a repetition of the night before, save that the need for sleep was becoming overpowering.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

And then with an overpowering sweetness of relief, it came back upon my mind that the servants were already used to the coming and going of my second self.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

As we did so there came from the inside a stupefying and overpowering smell of chloroform.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The few who threw themselves in their way were overpowered or brushed aside, while the pursuers were beaten back by the ready weapons of the three cavaliers.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But Saturday afternoon, after work was finished and he had taken a bath, the desire to forget overpowered him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)