overdefine
overdefine verb: to define too rigidly, or in too much depth.
Verb
overdefine (third-person singular simple present overdefines, present participle overdefining, simple past and past participle overdefined)
- To define too rigidly, or in too much depth.
- Most students want to overdefine every flower and leaf. In the assignment above, I spoke of “the essence of flowers.” If you overdefine and explain every petal, you will lose the sense of softness and mystery.2001, Charles Reid, Painting Flowers in Watercolor with Charles Reid
- The adolescent search for a new and a reliable identity can perhaps best be seen in the persistent endeavor to define, to overdefine, and to redefine oneself and each other in often ruthless comparison […]2011, Walter N. King, Hamlet's Search for Meaning, page 133
Forms of overdefine
| third-person singular present | overdefines |
|---|---|
| present participle | overdefining |
| past participle | overdefined |
| past | overdefined |
Origin of overdefine
From over- + define.
Questions about overdefine
- What does overdefine mean?
- Overdefine means to define too rigidly, or in too much depth.
- What part of speech is overdefine?
- Overdefine is a verb.
- What is the past tense of overdefine?
- The past tense of overdefine is overdefined.
Words near overdefine in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: overdefine (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “overdefine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/overdefine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.