Adjacent Words

Overcome definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

OVERCOME, v.t. [See Come.]
1. To conquer; to vanquish; to subdue; as, to overcome enemies in battle.
2. To surmount; to get the better of; as, to overcome difficulties or obstacles.
3. To overflow; to surcharge. [Not used.]
4. To come upon; to invade. [Not used.]
OVERCOME, v.i. To gain the superiority; to be victorious.
Romans 3.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: win a victory over; "You must overcome all difficulties"; "defeat your enemies"; "He overcame his shyness"; "He overcame his infirmity"; "Her anger got the better of her and she blew up" [syn: get the better of, overcome, defeat]
2: get on top of; deal with successfully; "He overcame his shyness" [syn: overcome, get over, subdue, surmount, master]
3: overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli [syn: overwhelm, overpower, sweep over, whelm, overcome, overtake]
4: overcome, usually through no fault or weakness of the person that is overcome; "Heart disease can get the best of us" [syn: get the best, have the best, overcome]

Merriam Webster's

verb (overcame; -come; -coming) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ofercuman, from ofer over + cuman to come Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to get the better of ; surmount <overcome difficulties> 2. overwhelm intransitive verb to gain the superiority ; win Synonyms: see conquer • overcomer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. (past -came; past part. -come) 1 tr. prevail over, master, conquer. 2 tr. (as overcome adj.) a exhausted, made helpless. b (usu. foll. by with, by) affected by (emotion etc.). 3 intr. be victorious. Etymology: OE ofercuman (as OVER-, COME)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Overcome O`ver*come", v. t. [imp. Overcame; p. p. Overcome; p. pr & vb. n. Overcoming.] [AS. ofercuman. See Over, Come, and cf. Supervene.] 1. To get the better of; to surmount; to conquer; to subdue; as, to overcome enemies in battle. This wretched woman overcome Of anguish, rather than of crime, hath been. --Spenser. 2. To overflow; to surcharge. [Obs.] --J. Philips. 3. To come or pass over; to spreads over. [Obs.] And overcome us like a summer's cloud. --Shak. Syn: To conquer; subdue; vanquish; overpower; overthrow; overturn; defeat; crush; overbear; overwhelm; prostrate; beat; surmount. See Conquer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Overcome O`ver*come", v. t. [imp. Overcame; p. p. Overcome; p. pr & vb. n. Overcoming.] [AS. ofercuman. See Over, Come, and cf. Supervene.] 1. To get the better of; to surmount; to conquer; to subdue; as, to overcome enemies in battle. This wretched woman overcome Of anguish, rather than of crime, hath been. --Spenser. 2. To overflow; to surcharge. [Obs.] --J. Philips. 3. To come or pass over; to spreads over. [Obs.] And overcome us like a summer's cloud. --Shak. Syn: To conquer; subdue; vanquish; overpower; overthrow; overturn; defeat; crush; overbear; overwhelm; prostrate; beat; surmount. See Conquer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Overcome O`ver*come", v. i. To gain the superiority; to be victorious. --Rev. iii. 21.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(overcomes, overcoming, overcame) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Note: The form 'overcome' is used in the present tense and is also the past participle. 1. If you overcome a problem or a feeling, you successfully deal with it and control it. Molly had fought and overcome her fear of flying... VERB: V n 2. If you are overcome by a feeling or event, it is so strong or has such a strong effect that you cannot think clearly. The night before the test I was overcome by fear and despair... A dizziness overcame him, blurring his vision. = overwhelm VERB: be V-ed, V n 3. If you are overcome by smoke or a poisonous gas, you become very ill or die from breathing it in. The residents were trying to escape from the fire but were overcome by smoke. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Subdue, conquer, vanquish, subjugate, overthrow, overwhelm, overturn, overbear, overpower, overmaster, defeat, crush, beat, rout, discomfit, choke, get the better of, get the upper hand of, prostrate. 2. Surmount, rise above. 3. Rule, domineer over. II. v. n. Prevail, conquer, gain the victory.

Moby Thesaurus

affected, all up with, beat, beaten, best, bested, better, blind, blind drunk, blotto, break, broken-down, brokenhearted, cap, confounded, conquer, crush, crushed, cut up, dash, dashed, deck, defeat, defeated, demoralize, demoralized, desolated, discomfited, done for, done in, down, drown, drub, exceed, excel, fallen, fixed, floor, floored, go one better, heart-stricken, heart-struck, heartbroken, helpless, hors de combat, hurdle, improve on, influenced, inundated, knock down, knock over, lambasted, lathered, lick, licked, master, moved, neurasthenic, on the skids, out, out cold, outdone, outlive, outweigh, overbalance, overbear, overborne, overexcited, overmaster, overmastered, overmatch, overmatched, overpass, overpower, overpowered, overridden, overset, overthrow, overthrown, overtop, overturn, overturned, overwhelm, overwhelmed, overwrought, panicked, paralyzed, passed out, perfect, predominate, preponderate, prevail, prevail over, prostrate, prostrated, psych out, put to rout, reduced to jelly, rise above, rout, routed, ruined, scattered, send flying, settled, shake, shaken, shot, shot to pieces, silence, silenced, skinned, skinned alive, speechless, stampeded, stiff, stoned, stricken, subdue, subdued, subjugate, suppress, surmount, surpass, throw, top, tower above, tower over, transcend, trimmed, trip, trip up, triumph, triumph over, trounced, trump, unbrace, under the table, undo, undone, unglued, unman, unmanned, unnerve, unnerved, unstring, unstrung, upset, vanquish, whelm, whelmed, whip, whipped, win, worst, worsted