overfret
overfret verb: to fret excessively.
Verb
overfret (third-person singular simple present overfrets, present participle overfretting, simple past overfretted or overfret or overfrate, past participle overfretted or overfret or overfrate or (usually in compounds) overfretten)
- To fret excessively.
- "I believe it was," replied Lord Norbourne, kindly taking his companion's hand. "I have learnt to think of my loss with a sadness that soothes me. I turn to her image when overfretted with worldly cares. I hope almost as she hoped for our re-union."1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Asking for an Invitation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 23
- But now come down from your pedestal, and do not overfret yourself, because your hand, or your mind, or your soul, will not fulfil all that you would have it.1851, Arthur Helps, Companions of my solitude, page 201
Forms of overfret
| third-person singular present | overfrets |
|---|---|
| present participle | overfretting |
| past | overfretted |
| past | overfret |
| past | overfrate |
| past participle | overfretted |
| past participle | overfret |
| past participle | overfrate |
| past participle in-compounds usually | overfretten |
Origin of overfret
From over- + fret. Compare Middle English overfreten, ovirfretyn (past participle).
Questions about overfret
- What does overfret mean?
- Overfret means to fret excessively.
- What part of speech is overfret?
- Overfret is a verb.
- What is the past tense of overfret?
- The past tense of overfret is overfretted.
Words near overfret in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: overfret (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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