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to overpraise

to overpraise

1 6.4
To say too many good things about someone who does not deserve them
  • verb
  • /ˌoʊvərˈpreɪz/
translation icon : exagerar
  • When she received compliments from everyone, she hoped they wouldn't overpraise her efforts.

Examples

  • Overall, persistently "overpraise and undercriticize" (Rogers, 2004).

    Academic text (2008)
  • Cowboys and Aliens may be worth a damn, but overpraise for it seems a stretch.

    Blog text (7)
  • We're anxious not to overpraise it because to go in with overhyped expectations for this small, contained picture would be to deny yourself the gentle, wise surprise of a film that, without doubt, has proven to be one of the most satisfying of our Rome festival.

    Blog text (3)
  • Sidney McMurdo's was about as heavy a body as there was in the neighborhood, and when Harold Pickering, with a resource and ingenuity which it would be difficult to overpraise, suddenly butted him in the stomach with his head and sent him reeling against it, it gave way without a moment's hesitation.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The coach warned the fans not to overpraise the team's performance after just one win.

  • Some critics believe that it is easy to overpraise a popular artist without recognizing their flaws.

Synonyms

to flatter
vsto overpraise
100 3.6

Praise someone with words you do not mean to get their help

is excessive admiration without the specific aim of gaining advantage
to gush
vsto overpraise
26 5.6

To praise a person or thing too much, often with strong feeling

is excessive admiration not limited to speech or expressive acts
to puff
vsto overpraise
  • Literature
7 7.4

To praise something too much to make people want to buy it

is excessive admiration used broadly, not mainly to promote or sell
to oversell
vsto overpraise
7 4.9

Make something seem better than it really is

is excessive admiration more about personal acclaim than commercial promotion
to overhype
vsto overpraise
4 5.8

Praise something more than it really deserves

is excessive admiration more about general liking than marketing hype
to gush over
vsto overpraise
4 7.0

Praise a person or thing in a very excited way

is excessive admiration used broadly not only as an emotional display
to gush about
vsto overpraise
4 6.1

Talk in a very excited way to praise someone or something

is excessive admiration that applies more broadly than just talking
to puff up
vsto overpraise
1 6.4

To praise someone too much to make them seem better

is excessive admiration that is not primarily aimed at boosting reputation
praise to the skies
vsto overpraise
  • Informal
1 5.8

Say very good things about someone or something with strong feeling

is excessive admiration used more generally rather than only the most extreme
to heap on praise
vsto overpraise
4.0

To give a lot of praise, often more than needed

is excessive admiration that can appear in forms other than sheer quantity
to beslaver
vsto overpraise
  • Archaic
9.9

To praise someone in a way that is not sincere to get a favor

is excessive admiration that may be sincere rather than insincere

Antonyms

701 3.3

To say what is wrong with someone or something

To not value someone or something as much as they deserve

How Positive

to overpraise
1 6.4
to laud
  • Formal
30 7.7
to commend
67 4.4
to praise
331 1.0

Surface Forms

overpraise infinitive
overpraised past participle
overpraising present participle
overpraises third person singular

Morphology

overpraise = praise (transparent) = over + praise

The verb is formed by the productive English prefix 'over-' meaning 'excessively' attached to the verb 'praise', yielding the clear meaning 'praise too much'.

Etymology

Overpraise comes from the prefix over- meaning 'too much', like in overcook, and the common word praise. So to overpraise someone is to praise them more than they deserve.