OVERWEENING Synonyms: 227 Similar and Opposite Words

overweening

adjective

ˌō-vər-ˈwē-niŋ

as in smug

having too high an opinion of oneself a director who has little patience for overweening actors who think they are above taking advice and criticism

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Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in excessive

going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or amount overweening desire for wealth and fame

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as in arrogant

having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude an overweening administrator who simply doesn't know how to manage people

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as in inflated

extended beyond normal or realistic bounds an overweening national pride that prompted its citizens to denigrate other countries

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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 overweening Instead, the grande dame of hospitality was replaced by an overweening, obscenely tall, utterly out of place, speculative supertall skyscraper: the Empire State Building. —

Justin Davidson, Curbed, 10 July 2025 But an overweening chorus of voices—from legislators, media, and civilian organizations—declared that, unlike white citizens of German and Italian descent, danger lurked in Japanese American bodies. —

Literary Hub, 12 May 2025 The doctrine itself has had all manner of ill effects on the capacity of employers to apply race-neutral or gender-neutral standards of qualification and fitness, and replaced the concept of an equal opportunity employer with the overweening human resources departments that gave us DEI. —

The Editors, National Review, 25 Apr. 2025 Iraqi nationalism is the ultimate hedge against Iran’s overweening ambitions; no Iraqi wishes for his or her country to become a pawn of Iran. —

Linda S. Robinson, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2019 See All Example Sentences for overweening

Recent Examples of Synonyms for overweening

Adjective

Adam McKay’s toxically smug dissection of Dick Cheney fails to take the full measure of this monstrous vice-president, but even so, Bale taps into something elemental about the man’s arrogance and domineering personality.

— Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026
Most everyone in attendance at 2220 seemed to be there to meet or support one of their favorite artists, one of the devout purists of our time who manages to remain that without getting smug, lazy or feral, all common pitfalls.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026