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Overlord vs Mastermind - What's the difference?

overlord | mastermind |

As nouns the difference between overlord and mastermind

is that overlord is a ruler of other rulers while mastermind is a person with an extraordinary intellect or skill that is markedly superior to his or her peers.

As a verb mastermind is

to act in the role of mastermind.

overlord

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A ruler of other rulers.
    • The various tribal chieftains met each spring to elect an overlord that would lead them in time of war.
  • Anyone with overarching power or authority in a given domain.
    • The crusty old professor was overlord of the history department, and few dared to cross his will.
  • *

    • Usage notes

    * The second sense frequently carries negative connotations; calling one an overlord can imply tyranny or authoritarianism.

    Derived terms

    * overlordship

    mastermind

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person with an extraordinary intellect or skill that is markedly superior to his or her peers.
  • *1840 , (Edgar Allan Poe), ‘The Colloquy of Monos and Una’:
  • *:At long intervals some master-minds appeared, looking upon each advance in practical science as a retro-gradation in the true utility.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=2003 , author=Steve Kemper , title=Code Name Ginger: the Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World , chapter=2 , isbn=1578516730 , page=34 , passage=His first outside hire wasn't an electronics whiz or a mechanical mastermind , but a young industrial designer, a creature hitherto unknown at DEKA.}}
  • A person responsible for the highest level of planning and execution of a major operation.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=2007 , author=Mark S. Hamm , title=Terrorism as Crime: from Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and Beyond , chapter=6 , isbn=0814736963 , page=196 , passage=The first was with none other than Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM), mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.}}

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To act in the role of mastermind.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=2007 , author=Kevin Danaher et al. , title=Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots , isbn=0977825361 , page=136 , passage=It would later be revealed that the corporation contributed over a quarter of a million dollars to the effort—a whopping 93 percent of the total coffer—and hired a team of media and political experts to mastermind it.}}

    Anagrams

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