How to Use overpower in a Sentence

overpower

verb
  • The delicate taste of the wine was overpowered by the spiciness of the food.
  • The police overpowered the man and handcuffed him.
  • The troops were overpowered by the stronger enemy forces.
  • She was able to overpower her attacker.
  • His personality overpowers everyone else's.
  • In the end, Iowa overpowered Louisville, 97-83, to advance to the Final Four.
    — Talya Minsberg, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2023
  • Fear that a day will come the numbers here will overpower the love to live.
    — Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
  • There are times when the space heater could overpower the cord and cause it to short circuit.
    — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, 2 Dec. 2020
  • Spiro tries and tries to get up, but he is overpowered.
    — Martin McKenzie-Murray, SPIN, 7 Jan. 2025
  • But Uribe Cruz was able to overpower Noe and choked him, Ramos added.
    — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2022
  • Zach Wilson and the Jets were overpowered by the Cowboys.
    — Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Sep. 2023
  • Even with the sunroof open and the windows down, the noise didn’t overpower the music.
    — Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 16 Aug. 2021
  • Finish a whiskey for too long and the wood might overpower it, too short and the meaning is lost.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 9 Nov. 2022
  • Shaw overpowered the gunman, grabbed the barrel of the AR-15 and tossed the weapon over the Waffle House counter and out of the shooter's reach.
    — The Washington Post, NOLA.com, 26 Apr. 2018
  • The rioters then overpower the USCP where the first line broke.
    — Sarah D. Wire, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2022
  • For example, the hues in the sky and flowers to the sides of the runway seek to enhance, but not overpower, the show.
    — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 9 Sep. 2022
  • He was overpowered by the bigger Joe Johnson for a three-point play in the first half.
    — Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press, 23 Mar. 2018
  • The man fights back, but is overpowered and soon killed by the intruder.
    — Brittany Vincent, Popular Mechanics, 15 June 2019
  • Then came the chewy sweetness of the date (but not overpowering).
    — Shafaq Patel, Axios, 18 Mar. 2025
  • This was a shift from the Ray of last year, a pitcher who overpowered with his fastball.
    — Nick Piecoro, azcentral, 24 Apr. 2018
  • The scents are great and fill a room without overpowering it.
    — Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 13 Nov. 2023
  • Three of the gang are alleged to have overpowered the victim and dragged her to an enclosed area a few feet away.
    — Helen Regan, Vedika Sud and Swati Gupta, CNN, 6 Dec. 2019
  • Hair and makeup were kept simple so as not to overpower the rest.
    — Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2019
  • One doesn’t have to negate, or overpower, or defer to the other.
    — Deanna Pai, Glamour, 14 Aug. 2018
  • Mushrooms, brought down to earth from above the bar, are drenched in a strong sauce à la grecque, and the tuna Niçoise is overpowered by the olive.
    — Jessica Henderson, The New Yorker, 14 June 2019
  • As a rookie, he got overpowered by big nose guards such as Michael Pierce, but that’s not the case any more.
    — Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 30 July 2024
  • Benn had grabbed a butcher knife but was overpowered by Honie, who grabbed the knife and brought it to her throat, court records say.
    — Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2024
  • The dish was spicy and tickled the back of my throat, but there was a good balance of heat that was not overpowering.
    — Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2025
  • One thing Smith’s gas couldn’t overpower was the film’s success.
    — Angel Saunders, People.com, 3 Oct. 2024
  • In the Season 2 finale, Gi-hun convinced his fellow players to pose as the dead and overpower the guards who come to take their bodies.
    — Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 5 May 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overpower.' 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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