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Glite Dictionary
🔁 Excessively ⚠️ Too much 📈 An excess
overmuch

overmuch

7.5
More than is needed or wanted
  • adjective
  • /ˈoʊvərˌmʌtʃ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : excesivo
  • I replied with what restraint I could muster (for the subject had received overmuch attention in the past day) that what I was not permitted to do was to give over responsibility for my actions.
  • overmuch attention

Examples

  • There were men before and behind the litter, but no one paid overmuch attention to her.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Avoiding overmuch noise is important in a library.

  • He realized that his overmuch criticism was hurting her feelings.

  • The overmuch attention given to the event made it less enjoyable.

Synonyms

too much
vsovermuch
∞ 1.2

More than is needed or healthy

is a single word that expresses excess more concisely
excessive
vsovermuch
224 3.6

More than is needed or reasonable

expresses the same idea but in a slightly older or formal way
overlarge
vsovermuch
1 4.7

Too big for the person or room

applies to excess in amount or degree, not just physical size
overabundant
vsovermuch
1 5.8

More than is needed or wanted

speaks of excess generally, not only production or large quantity

Antonyms

moderate
415 3.3

Not very large or intense

insufficient
86 3.6

Not enough in amount or quality to meet a need

How Much

overmuch
  • Archaic
7.5
ample
104 3.7
sufficient
447 2.8
insufficient
86 3.6

Surface Forms

overmuch positive

Morphology

overmuch = much (transparent) = over + much

Meaning is directly formed by the productive prefix 'over-' plus 'much' giving 'excessively', which is clear to learners who know the components.

Etymology

Overmuch is made of over- and much, where over- gives the idea 'too' as in overdo and overcook, and much means 'a large amount'. So overmuch as an adjective means 'too much' or 'excessive'.