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overdelicate

overdelicate

8.8
Too easily damaged or upset
  • adjective
  • /ˌoʊvərˈdɛlɪkɪt/
translation icon : excesivamente delicado
  • The overdelicate china was kept in a special cabinet.

Examples

  • He criticized the overdelicate workmanship, saying it wouldn't endure daily use.

  • Some critics are overdelicate about language and take offense too easily.

  • After her illness, her appetite became overdelicate and she could only eat bland food.

  • Her overdelicate nature made it hard for her to handle criticism.

  • The overdelicate flowers in the garden require careful handling to prevent damage.

  • His overdelicate health made it difficult for him to participate in vigorous activities.

  • The artist's overdelicate brushwork created an ethereal effect in the painting.

Synonyms

delicate
vsoverdelicate
188 3.8

Easily broken and needing gentle care

stresses excessive refinement combined with emotional fragility
particular
vsoverdelicate
106 4.4

Careful about small details and hard to please

leans more to excessive fragility or oversensitivity rather than precision
fussy
vsoverdelicate
24 3.9

Easily annoyed and hard to please about small things

is more about being unduly fragile or sensitive than mere annoyance
oversensitive
vsoverdelicate
7 5.6

Easily upset by what others say or do

applies more to being overly fragile or refined rather than emotional reaction
overrefined
vsoverdelicate
7.6

Too careful or polite to seem natural

is about being excessively fragile or sensitive rather than stylishness
finespun
vsoverdelicate
  • Literature
9.9

Very careful and exact but too detailed to follow

is more about physical or emotional fragility than complex detail
overbred
vsoverdelicate
8.8

Having very polite, fancy manners that seem fake and snobbish

is focused on undue fragility and sensitivity rather than social pose
niminy-piminy
vsoverdelicate
  • Archaic
9.9

Too careful about manners in an obvious fake way

leans toward being overly fragile or easily upset rather than showy neatness
overnice
vsoverdelicate
9.3

A person who acts very fussy about small things like dirt or food and gets upset easily

tends to mean being excessively fragile or sensitive instead of mere fastidiousness
overly fussy
vsoverdelicate
6.1

Too worried about small details and hard to please

expresses excess fragility or sensitivity rather than detail-focused fussiness
picayunish
vsoverdelicate
  • Archaic
9.9

Giving too much attention to small, unimportant details

is about being too fragile or sensitive rather than petty attention to detail

Antonyms

112 3.9

Strong and able to work well in difficult conditions

1 3.7

A product made to last many years, like a fridge or washing machine

How Delicate

overdelicate
8.8
fragile
83 3.4
delicate
188 3.8
sturdy
76 2.1

Surface Forms

overdelicate positive
overdelicater comparative
overdelicatest superlative

Morphology

overdelicate = delicate (transparent) = over + delicate

Clearly formed by the productive prefix 'over-' meaning 'excessively' plus the adjective 'delicate', so the meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Overdelicate joins the prefix over- meaning 'too much' with delicate meaning 'fragile' or 'easily hurt', so it describes something or someone that is 'too sensitive' or 'too fragile'.