😬 To make tense 😮‍💨 To exhaust ⏰ To wind too much

to overwind

7.9

To make someone feel very nervous and upset

verb
/ˌoʊvərˈwaɪnd/

: tensar demasiado

When faced with tight deadlines, some workers may overwind and struggle to concentrate.

Examples

The stress of her job can overwind her emotions, leaving her feeling anxious at the end of the day.
He always seems to overwind himself before competitions, causing him to perform below his potential.
Well, in that case, stop Miss Brahms from overwinding my vibrating bear.

Bob Roberts (1992)

Synonyms

to overwhelm

vsto overwind

164 4.4

Make someone feel very strong emotions so they cannot think clearly

produces excessive nervous agitation rather than total incapacity to cope

to strain

vsto overwind

67 3.9

To make someone feel tense or nervous

produces excessive agitation and emotional distress rather than normal pressure

to overpower

vsto overwind

18 5.7

To feel unable to think and act because of a very strong feeling such as fear or a strong smell

causes excessive nervous agitation rather than full loss of control

to tense up

vsto overwind

Informal

9 3.7

To make your muscles tight when you feel nervous

causes stronger ongoing nervous agitation rather than brief stiffness

to sweep over

vsto overwind

8 4.6

A strong feeling that affects someone suddenly

pulls someone into prolonged nervous agitation rather than a quick rush

to sweep away

vsto overwind

7 4.6

To feel very strong emotions that you cannot control

results in lasting nervous agitation rather than being simply swept along

to overstimulate

vsto overwind

Specialized

4 6.3

Give someone too much noise, light or activity so they become stressed

causes excessive nervous agitation rather than mainly sensory overload

to overexcite

vsto overwind

2 3.5

To make people or animals too excited

leads to excessive nervous agitation rather than high energetic excitement

to overstress

vsto overwind

1 4.4

To put too much strain on the body or mind

leads to excessive nervous agitation rather than only overload

to consternate

vsto overwind

Archaic

1 9.9

To make someone feel sudden shock and worry

creates prolonged nervous agitation rather than brief shocked anxiety

to unfix

vsto overwind

9.1

Make someone feel upset and unable to think clearly

creates intense nervous agitation rather than general unsettlement

to whelm

vsto overwind

9.9

To feel a very strong emotion that takes control of you

creates intense nervous agitation rather than a broad engulfing feeling

Antonyms

to calm

962 1.0

Make a person or animal less upset

to soothe

63 3.4

To make someone feel calmer or reduce their pain

How Tense

to overwind

7.9

to agitate

42 4.8

to fluster

3 5.5

to unnerve

20 6.3

to disconcert

7 7.1

Surface Forms

overwind infinitive

overwinding present participle

overwinds third person singular

overwound past

overwound past participle

Morphology

overwind = wind (semi-transparent) = over + wind

Formally 'over-' + 'wind' is clear, but the sense relies on the idiomatic use 'wind (someone) up' meaning 'make tense', so learners may not transparently map the components.

Etymology

Overwind comes from the prefix over- meaning 'too much' and wind as in 'to wind up' someone, which means to make them tense or excited. So to overwind someone is to 'wind' them up too much and make them overly nervous.