overreached

verb

past tense of overreach
1
as in deceived
to get the better of through cleverness a real estate developer who is always trying to overreach his competitors, fair means or foul

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in exceeded
to go beyond the limit of the mountain climbers overreached their abilities and paid for it dearly

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 overreached His comments come as OpenAI models have been involved in multiple security incidents in which agentic tools have overreached, hacking other companies and even government websites. — James Peckham, PC Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026 Ultimately, Judge Darwin ruled in favor of the California Gaming Association, reaffirming its argument that the Bureau of Gambling Control overreached by attempting to impose new regulations. — Noe Padilla, USA Today, 7 July 2026 The defense argued that the encounters were consensual and that the government had overreached. — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 9 Mar. 2026 Democrats and liberals strongly believe Trump has overreached yet again — albeit not in quite such egregious terms — by inveighing against Bad Bunny. — Niall Stanage, The Hill, 10 Feb. 2026 Rozier's lawyers have asked for the charges against him to be thrown out, arguing that the government overreached by turning a private dispute over bettors' use of nonpublic information into a federal case. — CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026 The pregnant pauses between seasons have overreached. — Emma Flint, IndieWire, 25 Nov. 2025 The law also aims to rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Republicans argue had overreached under former President Joe Biden. — Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overreached
  1. deceived
  2. exceeded
  3. defeated
  4. surpassed
  5. thwarted
  6. outmaneuvered
  7. outwitted
  8. outsmarted
Verb
  • Some veterans say recruiters deceived them and Haitian authorities tortured them; their families call them scapegoats.
    — Astrid Suárez, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Some of the Colombians have long maintained that they were deceived about the mission and arrived at the home after Moïse had already been killed.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceived
Verb
  • This is the first time in its history that the company has exceeded 100 trillion won, propelled by booming AI demand.
    — Justina Lee, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, Cecily Brown’s Untitled (Paradise) and Oscar Murillo’s geographical avalanche also exceeded their high estimates, each selling for $141,900.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of exceeded
Verb
  • Samuel, or Samuil in Bulgarian, was a warrior emperor who battled the Byzantine Empire to expand his kingdom but was ultimately defeated and died shortly afterward in 1014.
    — COSTAS KANTOURIS, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The 1995 Jayhawks went 10-2 and defeated UCLA 51-30 in the bowl game.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of defeated
Verb
  • The outbreak in the Tampa area has surpassed Florida’s previous record and is nearing the 264 cases reported during Hawaii’s 2015-16 outbreak.
    — Mike Stobbe, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Just over 24 hours after its release, Panteón Rococó’s Tiny Desk session had already surpassed 1 million views on YouTube.
    — Natalia Cano, Billboard, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of surpassed
Verb
  • Monroe thwarted Giulia’s attempt at a move from the top turnbuckle.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The on-board algorithms that decide how and when to deploy the car's electrical hybrid power were seemingly thwarted by the drivers using less acceleration than usual to deal with the slippery conditions.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of thwarted
Verb
  • Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers’ coach who doubles as McVay’s friend, mentor and nemesis, outmaneuvered McVay again.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • For more than a decade, India’s leader Narendra Modi has seemed politically unassailable, presiding over a government that has outmaneuvered opponents, dominated public discourse and squeezed the space for dissent in the world’s biggest democracy.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 28 July 2026
Definition of outmaneuvered
Verb
  • To say that Cucurella was pleased, when the Spanish side outwitted the French in the semifinal, would be an understatement.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
  • For Deschamps and Stephan, there was no shortage of blame after Spain’s Luis de la Fuente outwitted the French coaching staff for the third time, following wins at the 2024 European Championship and last year’s Nations League semi-final.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of outwitted
Verb
  • But this will be forever known as a day when football’s smartest organization got outsmarted, when football’s best coach fumbled and when the San Francisco 49ers turned football’s giants into so much shrimp on the barbie.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • After being humiliated and outsmarted when Julia escaped his grasp with Henry’s help in the season one finale, Lovat is presumably more dangerous than ever — and Henry will need to find a way back to save her once again.
    — Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of outsmarted

Browse Nearby Words

overreach
overreached
overreaches
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Cite this Entry

“Overreached.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overreached. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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