OVERCAME Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

overcame

verb

past tense of overcome

as in defeated

to achieve a victory over the baseball team finally overcame their opponents in the 13th inning

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in overwhelmed

to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress already under stress, she was overcome by news of a death in the family

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of overcame The move comes after the Astros overcame a plethora of injuries to win the AL West with an 81-81 record and become the first team in Major League Baseball history to reach the postseason without a winning record. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 The Cardinals overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Dodgers, 4-2, in the NLCS, while the Royals rallied from 2-0 down to defeat the Blue Jays, 4-3, in the ALCS. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026 The Vikings overcame two lost fumbles inside the 20-yard line, one the Saints used as a catalyst for their only offensive touchdown of the afternoon and one that was returned for a score. — CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 Dream star Allisha Gray is considered questionable with a hand injury, but the team overcame that in Game 2 … and no team has ever lost a five-game series after taking a 2-0 lead. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026 But Reed will remember it for the surreal feeling that overcame him in CU’s gymnasium. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 9 Oct. 2026 The Broncos, meanwhile, overcame a Week 1 loss to remain competitive, but have fallen behind the Chiefs and Raiders in the AFC West. — Jason Cohen, PC Magazine, 4 Oct. 2026 Saturday’s game showed a team that overcame both mental and physical hurdles. — Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026 Like Baltimore and Las Vegas, Buffalo overcame a deficit of at least 10 points, eventually beating the Los Angeles Chargers, 24-16. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for overcame

Verb

French defeated Republican incumbent Jim Wright in a May Republican primary runoff.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Oct. 2026
That’ll be particularly important after Paxton defeated Cornyn in a brutal primary where Senate Republicans and other Cornyn allies spent more than $90 million in his defense and attacked Paxton as unfit for office.

— Matthew Choi, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of defeated

Verb

The graphic descriptions of internal brain trauma overwhelmed the jury box, prompting the judge to call a recess Friday.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Kirschner said that his staff has been overwhelmed with homeless individuals causing property damage and harassing customers.

— Melody Xu, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of overwhelmed

Verb

Complicating things is the current Administration, which has mastered the art of using those message-delivery systems to spread doubt and discontent and suspicion.

— Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
For a blueprint, Johnson points to a handful of NBA stars who have mastered the art of seeing the game unfold a step or two ahead of everyone else — Draymond Green, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and, yes, former Spurs great Tim Duncan.

— Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of mastered

Verb

Decades of deforestation have devastated vast areas of orangutan habitat, pushing the animals into smaller pockets, increasing their vulnerability to poachers.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
Going on two years after the wildfires that devastated Pacific Palisades and other Los Angeles-area neighborhoods, a popular moviehouse is ready for its closeup.

— Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of devastated

Verb

The announcement comes after a summer in which AI models have repeatedly conquered many of math’s longstanding open challenges, including one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems.

— Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 12 Oct. 2026
Having conquered the world’s top stages as Wagner’s warrior goddess, the American soprano returns to New World Symphony with selections from Götterdämmerung.

— Mike Hamersly, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of conquered

Verb

The Brewers took a 5-4 lead on Garrett Mitchell’s solo home run in the sixth inning and added an insurance run in the ninth on Hamilton’s bomb.

— Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026
Perhaps the squad took his ball-respecting mantra to its logical extreme, seemingly reluctant to sully it by smashing it into the net, with Chelsea recording the biggest xG underperformance in the Premier League during his brief tenure.

— Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of took

Verb

For founders sitting atop a mountain of stock, that beats selling shares, paying tax, and then giving away the cash.

— Diane Brady, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
The defense has exceeded expectations and continues to cement itself as a top-20, maybe even a top-15 defense, while the offense remains a disappointment, even after beating the Bears (4-2, 2-1).

— Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of beat

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overburdens

overcame

overcareful

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“Overcame.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overcame. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of overcame

verb

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