Is overcomer a word?

according to dictionary.com, it’s the noun form of overcome—http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/overcomer

But it sounds ridiculous.

I would have trouble using it in a sentence. We shall overcome…yes…but you are an overcomer? What would that mean?

And I suppose that since standard English has turned into a free-for-all, we can say “undercome” and “undercomer”?

It may well be, but I wouldn’t use it.

I believe this particular word is part of the porn lexicon.

can you jellies use it in a sentence?

I would love an example sentence.

It’s legitimately formed, and so from that point of view it would stand up to scrutiny if it were used in a construction consistent with its form. But it does not fill a need. I can imagine a line of poetry in which it might be the apt and perfect word, and I can, as Blondesjohn suggests, see some very specialized applications. It might also submit to the kind of stretching done by crossword puzzle authors. I don’t see any use for it in standard English.

I think I would like to be an overcomer. Of something. Sounds….valiant.

It seems to be used correctly here, i guess

Overcoming is not something you do. It is who you are. You are an overcomer and you are overcoming. Know this; the “ing” means to be in a constant state of being of whatever word it is modifying. Isn’t it a beautiful thought…a beautiful truth…to always overcome in every circumstance from moment to moment without fear of reprisal should you struggle to do so? Beloved, you have overcome. You are overcoming and will continue to do so.

Therefore, come My overcomer and let us multiply

@fireside: That is not exactly clarity and succinctness, is it? I am overcome sometimes by how we can torture the language. OTOH, “underwhelmed” has joined the lexicon.

Or, “Red rover, red rover, come over, come over.”

Sounds a lot like “I am the decider.” I am unlikely to refer to myself or someone else as an “overcomer.”

I was overcome by the amount of overcomings in the previous post about the Overcomer.

Still sounds like porn to me.

@fireside, that’s the kind of rhetorical or poetical/quasipoetical context in which I was imagining its use. I consider it legitimate because it is being used appropriately by analogy to comparably formed expressions. It is still unnecessary, but it isn’t wrong.

It is a religious word used by born-again Christians to describe the ideal relationship with the world. However, I do not think it’s a word, it’s a mistranslation, and the word in Romans 8:37 should be conquerers. I stumbled on this word, because I am grading an essay, and one student used the word, so I circled it and said to choose a different word. No point in using overcomer when you could chose a word that is more precise. Hope that helped!