OVERTAKEN Synonyms: 10 Similar and Opposite Words

overtaken

verb

past participle of overtake

as in caught

to move fast enough to get even with she had to hurry to overtake her friends, who had forgotten their umbrellas the thunderstorm overtook them suddenly

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fallen short

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 overtaken Those who have been fully overtaken by the Bardo, with no hope of escape, are entrapped in giant puppet suits. — Jane Bua, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026 Perfectly lucid, aware of the smell of Simple Green overtaken by perfumes, the talcum stink of baby powder. — Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026 Walmart had actually overtaken Kmart in sales around 1990, but Kmart still put her products in front of millions of shoppers every week. — Fernanda Tronco, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026 Her voice is still the outbound greeting on his and Ryu’s answering machine, which warns that the family is unavailable due to being overtaken by an infestation of firebreathing ants. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 4 Oct. 2026 Their families wept at the church, overtaken by the power of their love. — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 2 Oct. 2026 The scandal has overtaken the upcoming election and raised the stakes of its outcome. — Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026 By July 5, Axios was reporting on Polymarket’s 66 percent withdrawal probability and the fact that Kamala Harris had overtaken Biden in its nomination market. — Simon Denny, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026 The spring 2027 runway shows at Milan Fashion Week were overtaken by animal print. — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtaken

Verb

The initial patient — a Kenyan citizen — caught the deadly virus while living in Congo and died earlier this month.

— O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 15 Oct. 2026
Cooks played nearly every snap after Samuel departed and caught a touchdown on a target inside the 10-yard line.

— Dalton Del Don, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of caught

Verb

She has just been released from rehab after falling off the wagon and spends much of her day either sleeping or recovering from bad dreams of being chased by Nazis.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
But the right-hander was tagged by Jake Bauer's two-run double in the fourth and David Hamilton's RBI single that chased Glasnow in the fifth and left Milwaukee trailing 4-3.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of chased

Browse Nearby Words

overtake

overtaken

overtakes

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Cite this Entry

Style

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

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Synonyms of overtaken

verb

Example Sentences

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