overt

adjective

ō-ˈvərt  ˈō-(ˌ)vərt 

: open to view : manifest

overt hostility

overt symptoms of the disease

overt discrimination

both overt and covert military action

overtness noun

Examples of overt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Parasite’s portrayal of these upstairs-downstairs dynamics is even more overt; the members of the struggling Kim household, who live in a basement-level apartment and juggle odd jobs, alight on a crafty employment scheme after encountering an ultra-wealthy family. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2025

Fortunately, Congress had the foresight to understand both the importance of the service and the potential dangers of executive meddling, and so in 1970 walled it off from overt presidential meddling. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 23 Feb. 2025

There are only one or two overt villains, and even they get poked and prodded in ways that add dimension to their lizard brains. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2025

Searching for meaning in Kendrick’s imagery can feel vexing when the meaning is more symbolic than overt. —Clover Hope, Pitchfork, 10 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from past participle of ovrir to open, from Vulgar Latin *operire, alteration of Latin aperire

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overt

• alert
• assert
• avert
• dessert
• divert
• evert
• exert
• inert
• insert
• invert
• nightshirt
• revert

Kids Definition

overt

adjective

ō-ˈvərt  ˈō-(ˌ)vərt 

: open to view : not secret

overt hostility

overtly adverb

overtness noun

Medical Definition

overt

adjective

ō-ˈvərt, ˈō-ˌvərt also ˈō-vərt

: open to view : readily perceived

overt behavior

overtly adverb