Meaning & use
overt
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Done or shown in the open, with no attempt to hide it.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: overt hostility; sometimes after be.
Patterns
- overt hostility toward someone
- an overt act of something
The manager showed overt hostility toward the new employee.
There was no overt sign of trouble at the meeting.
Her overt support for the strike surprised her bosses.
Word forms
| comparative | more overt |
|---|---|
| superlative | most overt |
Common combinations
- overt racism
- The report found cases of overt racism in the workplace.
- overt hostility
- He met the proposal with overt hostility.
- overt act
- The law requires an overt act, not just an intention.
- overt attempt
- There was an overt attempt to influence the vote.
- overt sign
- She showed no overt sign of nervousness.
Synonyms and how they differ
- open
- Open is the plain everyday word, while overt sounds more formal and often describes something that might normally be hidden.
- blatant
- Blatant adds a sense of shamelessness and criticism, which overt does not.
- obvious
- Obvious means easy to notice, but overt means done openly on purpose.
- explicit
- Explicit means clearly stated in words, while overt describes a visible act or attitude.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: overt or covert? overt or obvious?
overt vs covert
Covert is the opposite: it means hidden or secret, whereas overt means openly done.
overt vs obvious
Obvious describes what is easy to see, while overt describes what is done without concealment.
Practice
Which word is the opposite of 'overt' in 'overt surveillance'?
Choose one answer.
Covert means secret and is the opposite of overt. Blatant, public and obvious are all close in meaning to overt.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.