How to Use overbearing in a Sentence

overbearing

adjective
  • He had to deal with his overbearing mother.
  • Her husband's overbearing manner made her miserable.
  • The sun was out, the grass was green and the heat not yet overbearing.
    — José M. Romero, The Arizona Republic, 26 Apr. 2023
  • Who needs an overbearing mirror when the space is this stylish?
    — Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 11 May 2023
  • The man seemed to be their coach, or their overbearing father, or both.
    — Tyler Foggatt, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
  • The staff is friendly but not overbearing.
    — Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 24 Aug. 2025
  • The foyer is often a small space, so a hall tree can be overbearing.
    — Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 2 Mar. 2025
  • The foyer is often a small space, so a hall tree can be overbearing.
    — Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 14 May 2026
  • The foyer is often a small space, so a hall tree can be overbearing.
    — Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 14 May 2026
  • The wife of an overbearing judge has been injured by a long-range shooter.
    — Sandra Dallas, The Denver Post, 23 Feb. 2020
  • Yet, the messaging does not come across as too heavy or overbearing.
    — Lynnette Nicholas, Parents, 17 June 2025
  • Quincy Jones’s swelling score feels overbearing and wrong for the tale.
    — Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023
  • The gourmand edge kicks in and settles into a musk that's not too overbearing.
    — ELLE, 1 Aug. 2023
  • Sure, Yara is being a little overbearing, but this is her first child!
    — Ashley Ray-Harris, Vulture, 17 May 2021
  • In our tests, this machine made espresso that was strong with a crema that wasn't overbearing.
    — Nicole Papantoniou, Good Housekeeping, 24 June 2022
  • The bass is also deep, though not overbearing, and vocals are crystal-clear.
    — Ryan Waniata, Popular Mechanics, 22 Apr. 2023
  • Parents and bosses might be a tad righteous or overbearing.
    — Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Their abundance of caution and overbearing rules felt like weakness to me growing up.
    — Deepa Purushothaman, Fortune, 7 May 2024
  • But in my overbearing opinion, the one called Firewitch deserves to be the top of the list.
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2025
  • In the backdrop, Hayat is struggling to break free of her overbearing aunts.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 7 Dec. 2025
  • And Tess, now a podcast host, is a bit of an overbearing grandmother.
    — Erin Jensen, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2025
  • And Tess, now a podcast host, is a bit of an overbearing grandmother.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
  • And Tess, now a podcast host, is a bit of an overbearing grandmother.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
  • The overbearing and frankly rude Gemma is found stabbed to death in Kate's bedroom.
    — Amy MacKelden, ELLE, 12 Mar. 2023
  • His 280-pound father was volatile and overbearing, and there was frequent strife at home.
    — Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2021
  • The dominant, not to say overbearing, hue of her existence is pink.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 20 July 2023
  • Conor, lost in grief, sends the children to live with their overbearing grandmother in Dublin.
    — Mark O’Connell, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2020
  • Best-known for her comedic roles, she was often hindered by Hearst’s overbearing hand in her career.
    — Anne Cohen, refinery29.com, 7 Dec. 2020
  • The sulfate-free formula doesn’t leave your face feeling dry, and there’s no overbearing scent.
    — Danny Perez, Popular Mechanics, 15 Feb. 2023
  • Swans was the sweetest of the Christmas brews thanks to the raisins, but the sweetness was not overbearing.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 4 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overbearing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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