Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Overbearing |
OverbearingAdjective1. Expecting unquestioning obedience; "he was imperious and dictatorial"; "the timid child of authoritarian parents"; "insufferably overbearing behavior toward the waiter". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "overbearing" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1726. (references) |
Synonyms: OverbearingSynonyms: authoritarian (adj), dictatorial (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Insolence | Adjective: insolent, haughty, arrogant, imperious, magisterial, dictatorial, arbitrary; high-handed, high and mighty; contumelious, supercilious, overbearing, intolerant, domineering, overweening, high-flown. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Overbearing |
| English words defined with "overbearing": arrogance, arrogant, authoritarian ♦ chesty ♦ dictatorial, Dictatory, dignitary, domineeringness ♦ hardy, haughtiness, High and mighty, high muckamuck, highhandedness, high-up, hubris ♦ imperiousness ♦ lordliness ♦ Oliver Hardy, overbearingly, overbearingness ♦ panjandrum ♦ self-important ♦ Tarquinish ♦ very important person, VIP ♦ With a high hand. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "overbearing": Bumbledom ♦ Preacher, Privacy. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | So what do you say to an overbearing younger sister who's treating her pregnant older sister like a porcelain doll (Charmed; writing credit: Colman deKay) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Japan | It is important to be honest and direct, while avoiding appearing overbearing. (references) |
Botswana | Bureaucratic procedures are streamlined and open, although somewhat slow, and not excessively overbearing compared to other African countries. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Overbearing" is generally used as a lexical verb (-ing form) -- approximately 60.00% of the time. "Overbearing" is used about 40 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (-ing form) | 60% | 24 | 71,196 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 37.5% | 15 | 90,616 |
| Noun (singular) | 2.5% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 40 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
mother overbearing | 6 |
overbearing parent | 3 |
overbearing | 3 |
in law mother overbearing | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "overbearing"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | imponues (commanding, compelling, dreadful, obtrusive), autoritar (authoritarian, authoritative, commanding, domineering, high handed, imperious, magisterial, masterful, peremptory). (various references) | |
Arabic | متغطرس (arrogant, conceited, haughty, imperious, insolent, lofty, lordly, overpeopled, overproud, overweening, presuming, presumptuous, proud, pushy, snooty, supercilious), متعجرف (arrogant, cavalier, conceited, haughty, imperious, lordly, overproud, overweening, presuming, presumptuous, puffed up, puffy, stuffy, supercilious, swelling), متصلف (officious), معجب بنفسه (conceited, overweening, self-important, smug, vain). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | надменен (airy, aloof, arrogant, assuming, assumptive, contemptuous, cool, disdainful, haughty, high, high and mighty, imperious, lofty, offhand, offish, overweening, prideful, proud, proud-stomached, remote, scornful, stand offish, stiff, stuck up, sublime, supercilious, superior, top-lofty, uppish), заповеднически (dogmatic, imperative, imperious, magisterial, peremptory), арогантен (arrogant, dogmatic, hoity toity, huffy, insolent, presuming, uppish). (various references) | |
Chinese | 霸" (high-handed, potent, rule by force, strong), 驕橫 (arrogant), 亢 , 傲慢 (Arrogance, Arrogant, Boastful, Boastfulness, Contemptuous, haughty, IMMODEST, insolent), 傲 (arrogant, insolent, proud). (various references) | |
Czech | zpupný (perky, vainglorious), pánovitý (bossy, bullying, domineering, hectoring, high handed, imperious), nadutý (arrogant, bumptious, conceited, haughty, proud, puffed up, windy), arogantní (arrogant, bigheaded, frosted, self confident, smug, snotty, supercilious, uppish). (various references) | |
Farsi | منکوب گر, مغرور (Bigheaded, Haughty, Jaunty, Presumptuous, Proud, Snob, Snobbish, Stuffy, Supercilious, Swagger, Uppish, Vain), قاطع (Categorical, Clincher, Conclusive, Crucial, Decisive, Incisive, Secant, Trenchant, Unanswerable), غالب (Conqueror, Dominant, Predominant), طاقت فرسا (Astringent, Cumbersome, Onerous, Severe, Tiresome, Troublous), ازخودراضی (Cocky, Smug). (various references) | |
Finnish | rehentelevä (blustery, swaggering), kopea (arrogant, haughty). (various references) | |
French | impérieux, autoritaire, arrogant. (various references) | |
German | anmaßend (arrogant, arroganting, arrogantly, assuming, bumptious, domineering, haughty, high handed, hubristic, imperious, overweening, presumptuous, pretentious). (various references) | |
Greek | καταθλιπτικόσ (oppressive), αγέρωχοσ (arrogant, cocky, haughty, imperious, magisterial), αυταρχικόσ (autocratic, autocratical, bossy, despotic, imperious, magisterial, officious, peremptory, self-assertive). (various references) | |
Hebrew | שתלט י (bossy, dominant, domineering, high and mighty, imperious, masterful), שחצן (arrogant, boastful, conceited, haughty, popinjay, presumptuous, smart aleck, snob, snooty, whippersnapper), 'א" (arrogance, boastful, boastfulness, conceit, conceited, haughtiness, haughty, pride, proud). (various references) | |
Hungarian | hatalmaskodó (bossy, domineering, masterful), basáskodó, erőszakos (boisterous, bounder, browbeating, bullying, hairy-assed, obtrusive, randy, self-assertive, shrill, violent). (various references) | |
Italian | arrogante (arrogant, assumptive, brash, haughty, overweening). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 腰高 (unstable wrestling stance), 暴慢 (ill-mannered), 強引 (coercive, forcible, high-handed, pushy), 居丈高 (high-handed), 傍若無人 (arrogance, audacity, defiance, insolence, outrageously as though there were no one around), 傲慢不遜 (arrogant, haughty), 威圧的 (coercive). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ぼうま" (ill-mannered, inflation), ぼうじゃくぶじ" (arrogance, audacity, defiance, insolence, outrageously as though there were no one around), いたけ か (high-handed), いあつてき (coercive), "うま"ふそ" (arrogant, haughty), "うい" (carousing, coercive, drinking, forcible, high-handed, karma, pushy), "し か (unstable wrestling stance). (various references) | |
Manx | stronaasagh. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | overbearingay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | imperioso (bounden, imperious, masterful, peremptory), dominador (masterful, overmastering), ditatorial (dictatorial, dog-cheap, magisterial, peremptory), autoritário (authoritarian, bossy, commanding, dictatorial, dog-cheap, domineering, emphatic, magisterial, masterful, peremptory, self-assertive), arrogante (arrogant, assuming, big, cockish, flatulent, haughty, huffish, imperious, lord-like, perk, proud, proud-spirited, self-assertive, self-confident, self-pride, self-sufficient, snippy, stuck-up, supercilious, uppish, upstage), arbitrário (arbitrary, masterful, wanton). (various references) | |
Romanian | poruncitor (authoritative, imperative, imperatively, imperious, masterful, overbearingly, peremptory), cu aer de stãpân (overbearingly), arogant (arrogant, arrogantly, assuming, assumptive, haughtily, haughty, high and mighty, lordly, overbearingly, overweening, perky, pretentious, supercilious). (various references) | |
Russian | властный (autocratic, autocratical, bossy, dictatorial, domineering, high handed, high-handed, imperious, masterful). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | ohol (arrogant, disdainful, haughtly, haughty, hoity toity, huffy, magisterial, overblown, proud, snippy, snooty, stuck up, supercilious), zapovednički (bossy, commanding, domineering, imperious, magisterial, masterful, possessive). (various references) | |
Spanish | imperioso (imperative, imperious, lordly, masterful, overriding), despótico (despotic), altivo (arrogantly, haughtily, haughty, lordly, overweening, supercilious). (various references) | |
Swedish | myndig (adult, authoritative, commanding, full-grown, grown-up, imperative, imperial, imperious, lordly, magisterial, major, of age), högdragen (haughty, high, high minded, imperious, lofty, lordly, standoffish, supercilious, supercillious). (various references) | |
Thai | ช่างเจ้ากี้เจ้าการ. (various references) | |
Turkish | zorba (autocratic, autocratical, bully, despot, extortioner, extortionist, high handed, imperious, persecutor, procrustean, rapacious, ravisher, rowdy, ruffian), küstah (arrogant, assuming, audacious, bold, bold-faced, brash, brassy, cheeky, chesty, cool, flip, flippant, fresh, ill mannered, impertinent, impudent, insolent, insulting, malapert, nervy, presuming, presumptuous, stroppy, too familiar, unabashed, wise), baskıcı (follower, oppressive). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | владний (arbitrary, authoritarian, authoritative, dictatorial, high and mighty, high handed, imperative, imperious, magisterial, masterful), зухвалий (aggressive, audacious, barefaced, bold, bold-faced, brazen faced, cheeky, cocksy, cocky, coxy, daring, flip, immodest, impertinent, insolent, necky, perky, pert, provocative, provocatory, pushing, rousing, saucy, wise), зарозумілий (arrogant, audacious, contemptuous, dogmatic, dogmatical, domineering, high and mighty, highbrow, insolent, lordly, overly, overweening, proud, self-conceited, self-explanatory, self-important, snooty, stately, stiff necked, stuck up, topping, upstage). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | hống hách (lordly). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | arrogans, arrogantem, arrogantes, arrogantia, superba, superbae, superbarum, superbe, superbi, superbis, superbo, superborum, superbos, superbum, superbus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "overbearing": overbearingly. (additional references) | |
| |
"Overbearing" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: overbering. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "overbearing" (pronounced ō"verbe"ring) |
| 5 | -b e" r i ng | baring, bearing. |
| 4 | -e" r i ng | airing, blaring, caring, chairing, comparing, daring, declaring, despairing, flaring, glaring, haring, herring, impairing, pairing, paring, preparing, repairing, scaring, sharing, snaring, sparing, squaring, staring, swearing, tearing, uncaring, unsparing, Waring, wearing. |
| 3 | -r i ng | appearing, acquiring, adhering, admiring, adoring, alluring, aspiring, assuring, barring, bioengineering, boring, charring, cheering, childbearing, clearing, conspiring, curing, deploring, disappearing, domineering, during, earring, electioneering, endearing, enduring, engineering, ensuring, expiring, exploring, fearing, firing, flooring, gearing, Goring, hearing, hiring, ignoring, imploring, inspiring, insuring, interfering, jarring, jeering, luring, marring, maturing, ministering, mooring, nearing, obscuring, outpouring, overhearing, overpowering, peering, perspiring, pioneering, poring, pouring, premiering, procuring, profiteering, quiring, racketeering, rearing, reassuring, reengineering, rehearing, rehiring, restoring, retiring, roaring, scarring, scoring, searing, securing, shearing, shoring, smearing, sneering, snoring, soaring, sparring, Spearing, starring, steering, stevedoring, storing, tarring, tiring, touring, underscoring, uninspiring, veering, volunteering, warring, wiring. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-e-e-g-i-n-o-r-r-v" | |
-2 letters: beavering, bereaving, orangerie, reverbing. | |
-3 letters: airborne, averring, bravoing, engraver, erigeron, orangier, overbear, overnear, reboring, regainer, revering, verbiage. | |
-4 letters: angrier, avenger, barnier, barring, bearing, begonia, begorra, begroan, braving, brevier, bringer, earring, engrave, enrober, gerbera, grainer, griever, groaner, ignorer, nervier, onerier, overage, overbig, overing, overran, rangier, ravener, rearing, reaving, rebegan, rebegin, reeving, reginae, regiven, roaring. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-e-e-g-i-n-o-r-r-v" | |
+2 letters: overbearingly, overbreathing, verbigeration. | |
+3 letters: overbreathings, verbigerations. | |
+4 letters: overelaborating. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Quotations: Non-fiction 6. Usage Frequency 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Translations: Ancient 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
