overcome

/ˌəʊvəˈkʌm/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌəʊvərˈkʌm/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌō-vər-ˈkəm/ (ame, mw)

overcome — verb

  • overcomepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • overcomeshe / she / it
  • overcamepast simple
  • overcoming-ing form

1. to beat an opponent or deal with a difficulty so it no longer stops you.

1.動詞及物 / 不及物B2
釋義

to beat an opponent or deal with a difficulty so it no longer stops you.

例句

After six months of therapy, Nina overcame her fear of dogs.

pattern: overcome + fear

Our school overcame an early mistake and won the final.

overcome + problem before success

同義詞
  • get over

    more informal, especially for fear, illness, or a bad experience, not for defeating an opponent

  • surmount

    more formal and mainly used for obstacles or difficulties

  • beat

    works well for opponents, but not usually for problems like fear or illness

  • conquer

    stronger and more dramatic, often suggesting complete victory

反義詞
  • yield to

    to stop resisting a problem, feeling, or pressure

  • succumb to

    more formal, often used when a difficulty defeats you

  • lose to

    used when the other side wins in a contest

文法句型

overcome + fear/problem/illness

overcome + opponent/team

overcome (without object when the difficulty is already clear)

用法筆記

Usually followed by a problem, fear, illness, or opponent. Intransitive use exists, but it is much less common and normally appears when the obstacle is already understood from the situation.

常見錯誤

❌Nina overcame from her fear of dogs.
✅Nina overcame her fear of dogs.
💡'overcome' takes a direct object, not 'from'.
❌Our team overcame to the final.
✅Our team overcame an early mistake and reached the final.
💡this verb needs the thing you beat or dealt with.

2. to affect someone so strongly that they cannot think clearly or move in a normal

2.動詞及物C2
釋義

to affect someone so strongly that they cannot think clearly or move in a normal way.

例句

At the funeral, Marcus was overcome by grief and could not speak.

usual pattern: be overcome by + emotion

After three days without sleep, the driver was overcome by exhaustion.

同義詞
  • overwhelm

    the closest everyday word for being hit by a very strong feeling or force

  • overpower

    often stresses strong physical or emotional force

  • disable

    focuses more on making action impossible than on strong feeling

反義詞
  • recover

    to return to normal control after strong feeling or physical weakness

  • withstand

    to stay able to act despite pressure, heat, pain, or emotion

文法句型

be overcome by + emotion/smoke/heat/exhaustion

something + overcome + person

用法筆記

Usually passive with 'by' plus an emotion or physical condition such as grief, smoke, heat, or tiredness. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about losing normal control, not successfully dealing with something.

常見錯誤

❌Marcus was overcome of grief.
✅Marcus was overcome by grief.
💡use 'by' after the passive form.
❌The smoke overcame to the hikers.
✅The smoke overcame the hikers.
💡in the active pattern, the affected people are the direct object.