Overcoming

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The action of surmounting obstacles or hardships encountered in life is a significant achievement that demonstrates resilience and strength
2. The act of successfully managing or getting past obstacles or hardships encountered in various situations
3. The process of prevailing over adverse conditions or problems through effort and determination

Etymology: "Overcoming" is the present participle and gerund of "overcome," and the verb's oldest sense is physical rather than figurative. Its Old English ancestor, "ofercuman," meant to overtake, reach, or attain, as well as to conquer or subdue, so the idea of getting over something was present from the start. The "over-" prefix carries the sense of going above or beyond, while "come" supplies the notion of arriving at a place. The verb passed into Middle English as "overcomen" and kept those senses of conquering and reaching a goal. The present sense of surmounting a difficulty grew out of the older meanings of subduing an opponent and attaining something, so the word moved from defeating a rival to getting past a hardship. The same root shows up in cognates across the Germanic languages, including Dutch "overkomen," German "überkommen," and Swedish "överkomma."

Synonyms: conquering, defeating, surmounting, mastering, prevailing

Antonyms: surrendering, yielding, submitting, failing, falling