overreaching

verb

present participle of overreach
1
as in thwarting
to get the better of through cleverness a real estate developer who is always trying to overreach his competitors, fair means or foul

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in exceeding
to go beyond the limit of the mountain climbers overreached their abilities and paid for it dearly

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 overreaching While most judges have categorized such requests as overreaching or for an improper purpose, two out of three judges on the panel ruled that there was nothing out of line about the QueerDoc request. — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 20 Aug. 2026 Republican lawmakers disagree, saying that the approval is just another example of an overreaching government. — Tom Wait, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026 His overreaching executive authority and voter suppression attempts amount to subversive governance. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2026 This should be a welcome sign for every broadcaster who has felt the weight of this overreaching government pressure in silence. — Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026 But stars Newsom and Schwarzenegger frequently fanned at the plate while overreaching. — Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026 Where supporters see government intervening to solve problems of everyday people struggling to afford groceries, others see a socialist mayor overreaching to take aim at a powerful symbol of America’s riches. — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026 The grand jury subpoena was filed in April and was almost immediately met with resistance from Fulton County officials, who argued the request was overreaching and came from baseless claims of election fraud six years ago. — Irene Wright, USA Today, 8 July 2026 In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party has opportunistically seized on air-conditioning, portraying it as an urgent quality-of-life issue that moralizing environmentalists and overreaching technocrats have ignored. — Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overreaching
  1. thwarting
  2. exceeding
  3. deceiving
  4. surpassing
  5. defeating
  6. outmaneuvering
  7. overcoming
  8. outwitting
Verb
  • The purpose of antitrust was to prevent companies from getting too large by taking over companies and swallowing them up and thwarting competition.
    — John E. McDonough, STAT, 16 Oct. 2026
  • South Africa hopes were pinned on Markram, who has a history of thwarting the Australians in the fourth innings.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of thwarting
Verb
  • Businesses remained the main source of research investment, with enterprise spending exceeding around $420 billion for the first time, accounting for more than 77% of the national total.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • He is also accused of exceeding his authority under Ohio law by failing to identify any statutory or constitutional source of legal authority for his order.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of exceeding
Verb
  • Looking at wins and losses is useful and necessary, but often deceiving as to which team is better.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • But 3-0 marks can be deceiving heading into a battle of unbeatens at home against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceiving
Verb
  • That would see her in the role into January 2029, surpassing Sarah Sanders’s time of almost two years in the job.
    — Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
  • That’s easily the most for any calendar year since AAA started tracking in 2000, surpassing the prior record of 158 in 2022 during the Biden administration, much of which was attributed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of surpassing
Verb
  • The Brewers defended home turf in Game 1 of the NLCS, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 2–1 in a tight pitching duel.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Here the goal is to traverse a sprawling castle, defeating all kinds of monsters and gathering gear and experience points to get stronger.
    — Andrew Webster, The Verge, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • The original 1960s cars had legendary status dominating the Monte Carlo Rally, outmaneuvering heavier machinery across icy mountain passes with lightweight agility rather than brute off-road hardware.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The characters' abilities are built around outmaneuvering, not outgunning.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of outmaneuvering
Verb
  • Others discussed overcoming the initial awkwardness of the work and finding satisfaction in helping doctors become more competent and compassionate.
    — Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • These productions focused on accessibility, particularly for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences, rather than overcoming language barriers.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Similar storm-clouds are now gathering around Sánchez, a canny politician known for outwitting his opponents.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 21 June 2026
  • Bob Markle was good at outwitting violators.
    — Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
Definition of outwitting

Browse Nearby Words

overreaches
overreaching
overrefined
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Overreaching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overreaching. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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