I. | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ verb
Etymology: Middle English overturnen, from over (I) + turnen to turn
transitive verb
1.
a. : to turn over : tilt or keel over from an upright, level, or proper position especially with force : cause to fall over : upset
a boat overturned by waves
overturned me in the dust — John Masters
b. : to tilt beyond a vertical position so that in one limb of an anticline the underside of a fold or of strata contains the younger beds
2. : to cause the downfall or destruction of : bring to nothing : ruin , invalidate
overturning the unity of religion — S.M.Crothers
the degree to which accident could overturn the schemes of wise men — Oscar Handlin
3. obsolete : derange , disorder
intransitive verb
1. : to turn over
2. : to produce an overturn
Synonyms:
upset , overthrow , subvert , capsize : overturn , as defined above, has less connotational power and wider range of meaning than others in this set, with which, however, in many uses it is interchangeable. upset lends itself to any use involving a tilting, knocking, or keeling over from an accustomed or proper position, and to any figurative use compatible with this notion. It is a simple and familiar word more likely than others in this set to be used in simple and familiar situations
this littlest of carriages could make only a great sweep, and was in danger of upsetting at every corner — George Santayana
wouldn't have believed they could be so upset by a hurt woodpecker — Willa Cather
overthrow suggests the same base idea as the preceding but implies more force and is likely to imply more conscious intent and to apply to matters of consequence and importance
I got through about half the work on this scale. But my plans were overthrown — C.R.Darwin
many laws which it would be vain to ask the court to overthrow could be shown, easily enough, to transgress … the Bill of Rights — O.W.Holmes †1935
subvert , originally a close synonym for the preceding in a literal sense, is now used mostly in reference to governmental systems, established religions, and institutional matters. It now appears more likely to imply insidious impairment than direct force
would do their utmost to subvert all religion and all law — Edmund Burke
and pressure groups will have demonstrated once again that the people's interest can be subverted by ruthless lobbyists — New Republic
capsize is likely to involve the picture of a boat keeling over
it may well have been the comedians who restored the theater's balance when the tragedians threatened to capsize it into absurdity — W.B.Adams
II. ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
1. : the act of overturning or the state of being overturned
an ideological and political overturn — J.R.Wike & A.Z.Rubinstein
2. : the sinking of surface water and rise of bottom water in a lake or sea that results from changes in density due to changes in temperature and that commonly occurs in spring and fall wherever lakes are icebound in winter