Word.ws English Dictionary

overspecific

Syllables: o·ver·spe·cif·icUK/ˌəʊvəspɪˈsɪfɪk/US/ˌoʊvɚspɪˈsɪfɪk/

overspecific adjective: too specific; with too much detail.

Adjective

overspecific (comparative more overspecific, superlative most overspecific)

  1. Too specific; with too much detail.
    • Moreover, the course in technical writing cannot be called narrow and overspecific inasmuch as the elements composing it remain constant, and the training which it gives the students is of permanent value regardless of any advance in engineering science.1918, Homer A. Watt, “The Wisconsin Course in the Composition of Technical Papers”, in Bulletin of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, volume VIII, number 3, page 119
    • Rorschach confabulations can be excessively broad or narrow in scope. They might involve the unfolding of a dramatic elaboration or a lengthy tangential or circumstantial commentary, on the one hand; or they may be crisply overspecific, on the other.2013, James H. Kleiger, Disordered Thinking and the Rorschach: Theory, Research, and Differential Diagnosis, Routledge, →ISBN, page 182

Forms of overspecific

comparativemore overspecific
superlativemost overspecific

Origin of overspecific

From over- + specific.

Words that rhyme with overspecific

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about overspecific

What does overspecific mean?
Overspecific means too specific; with too much detail.
What part of speech is overspecific?
Overspecific is an adjective.
How do you pronounce overspecific?
Overspecific is pronounced /ˌəʊvəspɪˈsɪfɪk/ (UK).

Words near overspecific in the dictionary

  1. overspecializations
  2. overspecialize
  3. overspecialized
  4. overspecializes
  5. overspecializing
  6. overspecific
  7. overspecifically
  8. overspecification
  9. overspecificity
  10. overspecified
  11. overspecifies

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: overspecific (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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