overmasterfuladj.
/ˌəʊvəˈmɑːstəf(ᵿ)l/, /ˌəʊvəˈmastəf(ᵿ)l/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈmæstərf(ə)l/ Excessively masterful.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [adjective] > domineering or overbearing
masterfulc1390
pontificalc1440
overmasterfula1450
headya1513
imperious1529
supercilious1536
masterlya1544
termagant1546
law-like1556
masterlike1580
dictator-like1582
peremptory1590
domineering1598
burly1605
high-handed1606
pontificial1613
lording1629
overlordingc1629
pontifician1629
peremptor1630
dictatory1639
predominant1642
dictatorial1692
pontific1716
overbearing1718
dictativea1774
knock-me-down1848
imponenta1882
bossy1882
heavy-handed1883
seigneurial1970
a1450 Pater Noster Richard Ermyte (Westm. Sch. 3) (1967) 32 (MED) We moten fiȝte aȝeyn þe fleisch & holde it vndir foote, þat he in folye ne glid, ffor in his ledyng he is ouermaysterful, ȝif he haue his wille.
1873 Littell's Living Age 24 May 452/2 Unthinking haste and over-masterful power governed Parliament at the very outset of Strafford's trial.
1883 A. Forbes in Fortn. Rev. 1 Nov. 663 The German strategy was daringly overmasterful.
1910 Amer. Hist. Rev. 15 588 Many things pulled down the Western Empire besides the over-masterful personality of this great African.
1998 K. Hieatt in T. M. Krier Refiguring Chaucer in Renaissance viii. 152 Is he an overmasterful lover or an embodiment of the boldness that fortune is supposed to favor?
Derivatives
ˌoverˈmasterfulness n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [noun] > domineering or overbearing
lording?a1425
masterdomc1475
imperiousness1582
domineering1617
dictatoring1644
overbearing1649
magisteriousness1650
magisterialness1651
high-handednessa1658
peremptoriness1699
dictation1769
overbearingnessa1797
dictatorialism1826
bashawism1839
dictatorialness1845
domineeringness1889
overmasterfulness1899
bossiness1928
overdoggery1962
1899 Month Sept. 242 One fault..amongst them at that time was overmasterfulness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.a1450