Overact

  • 1Overact — O ver*act , v. i. To act more than is necessary; to go to excess in action. B. Jonson. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Overact — O ver*act , v. t. 1. To act or perform to excess; to exaggerate in acting; as, he overacted his part. [1913 Webster] 2. To act upon, or influence, unduly. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] The hope of inheritance overacts them. Milton. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3overact — index overreach Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 4overact — (v.) 1610s, to go too far in action, from OVER (Cf. over) + ACT (Cf. act) (v.). Meaning to play a part with too much emphasis, to chew the scenery is from 1630s. Related: Overacted; overacting …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 5overact — ► VERB ▪ act a role in an exaggerated manner …

    English terms dictionary

  • 6overact — [ō΄vərakt′] vt., vi. to act (a dramatic role) in an exaggerated way …

    English World dictionary

  • 7overact — UK [ˌəʊvərˈækt] / US [ˌoʊvərˈækt] verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms overact : present tense I/you/we/they overact he/she/it overacts present participle overacting past tense overacted past participle overacted if an actor overacts, they… …

    English dictionary

  • 8overact — Date: 1611 intransitive verb 1. to act more than is necessary 2. to overact a part transitive verb to exaggerate in acting • overaction noun …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 9overact — verb during dramatic scenes, she has a tendency to overact Syn: exaggerate, overdo it, overplay it; informal ham it up, camp it up …

    Thesaurus of popular words

  • 10overact — o•ver•act [[t]ˌoʊ vərˈækt[/t]] v. t. 1) sbz to perform (a role) in an exaggerated manner 2) sbz to overact a role • Etymology: 1605–15 …

    From formal English to slang