---
title: overcome — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «overcome» in the school dictionary: To overcome a problem or fear is to deal with it successfully and beat it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# overcome

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** strong feeling, She, her, We, he, Firefighters · **What happens:** overcome, be, beat, make, fear, win · **To what, where:** problem, fear, enemy, dark, He, man · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«overcome» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 9 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [overcome in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/overcome.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To overcome a problem or fear is to deal with it successfully and beat it.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:m1:1
# text = To overcome a problem or fear is to deal with it successfully and beat it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	overcome	overcome	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	fear	fear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	deal	deal	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	with	with	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obl	_	_
12	successfully	successfully	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	beat	beat	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overcome** | to-infinitive |  | a problem or fear |  |  |  |  | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot problem=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | with fear; deal, successfully *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **beat** | infinitive |  | fear |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location it=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To overcome an enemy is to defeat them.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:m2:1
# text = To overcome an enemy is to defeat them.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	overcome	overcome	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	enemy	enemy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	defeat	defeat	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overcome** | to-infinitive |  | a enemy |  |  |  |  | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot enemy=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | defeat *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To be overcome by something is to be made weak or helpless by a strong feeling, smoke or heat.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:m3:1
# text = To be overcome by something is to be made weak or helpless by a strong feeling, smoke or heat.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
2	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	overcome	overcome	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	obl	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	advcl	_	_
10	weak	weak	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	xcomp	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	helpless	helpless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	_
13	by	by	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	feeling	feeling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	smoke	smoke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	heat	heat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | to-infinitive · passive |  |  |  |  |  | by something; overcome *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **make** | to-infinitive · passive | a strong feeling and smoke or heat |  |  |  |  | weak *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She overcame her fear of the dark.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:x1:1
# text = She overcame her fear of the dark.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	overcame	overcome	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	fear	fear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overcome** | past | She | her fear of the dark |  |  |  |  | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot fear=Theme |
| 2 | **fear** |  | her *= she* | the dark |  |  |  |  | nom fear «feeling transitive»: poss=agent of=patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We can overcome this problem together.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:x2:1
# text = We can overcome this problem together.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	overcome	overcome	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	det	_	_
5	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	together	together	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overcome** | can | We | this problem |  |  |  | together *property* | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot problem=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was overcome with joy when he won.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:x3:1
# text = He was overcome with joy when he won.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	overcome	overcome	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	joy	joy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	8	mark	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	won	win	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overcome** | past · passive |  | He |  |  |  | with joy | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **win** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Firefighters found a man overcome by smoke.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:x4:1
# text = Firefighters found a man overcome by smoke.
1	Firefighters	firefighter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	overcome	overcome	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	smoke	smoke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | past | Firefighters | a man |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent man=Topic |
| 2 | **overcome** | participle |  | a man *not said here* |  |  |  | by smoke | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The team overcame a two-goal deficit to win.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:x5:1
# text = The team overcame a two-goal deficit to win.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	overcame	overcome	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	goal	goal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	deficit	deficit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	win	win	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overcome** | past | the team | a goal deficit |  |  |  |  | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot deficit=Theme |
| 2 | **win** | to-infinitive | the team *not said here* | a goal deficit *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Practice helps you overcome mistakes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:x6:1
# text = Practice helps you overcome mistakes.
1	Practice	practice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	helps	help	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	overcome	overcome	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	mistakes	mistake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | present | Practice | you |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent you=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 2 | **overcome** | infinitive | you *not said here* | mistakes |  |  |  |  | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot mistake=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The knight overcame the dragon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:x7:1
# text = The knight overcame the dragon.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	overcame	overcome	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	dragon	dragon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overcome** | past | the knight | the dragon |  |  |  |  | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot dragon=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma was overcome with emotion at the party.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:x8:1
# text = Grandma was overcome with emotion at the party.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	overcome	overcome	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	emotion	emotion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	party	party	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overcome** | past · passive |  | Grandma |  | the party |  | with emotion | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The father could not speak; he was too much overcome.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overcome:x9:1
# text = The father could not speak; he was too much overcome.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	father	father	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	speak	speak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	11	punct	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	too	too	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	overcome	overcome	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **speak** *speech: other* | could | the father |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | past | father | much overcome |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
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