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Glite Dictionary
overeagerness

overeagerness

1 5.5
A strong desire to act that is too much and causes problems
  • noun
  • /ˌoʊvərˈiɡərnəs/
translation icon : excesiva eagerness
  • The Americans' display of overeagerness for an agreement provided another incentive for the Kremlin to prove dilatory or worse.

Examples

  • The team's overeagerness to finish the project quickly resulted in overlooked details and errors.

  • Owing to the overeagerness of the agents to get passengers, there was a total misunderstanding.

    Academic text (1993)

  • "Yes, the overeagerness is probably driving them away, not necessarily scaring them away."

    Blog text (2)

  • Don't ask me what high-tech weaponry he has at his fingertips, but his bold overeagerness has given it away.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • There is an overeagerness to let bygones be bygones, on the one hand, and a fundamentalist approach to prosecute—at least morally—everybody who did not actively fight the Communist regime on the other.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Her overeagerness to impress her boss led to several embarrassing mistakes in her presentation.

  • His overeagerness during the interview caused him to interrupt the hiring manager multiple times.

Synonyms

overzealousness
vsovereagerness
1 8.4

The act of trying too hard and causing problems

is eagerness that becomes problematic rather than merely strong
overzeal
vsovereagerness
9.5

Too much enthusiasm that causes problems

is eagerness that becomes problematic rather than controlled enthusiasm
overenthusiasm
vsovereagerness
5.1

Too much excitement about something that causes problems

is eagerness that reaches problematic excess rather than just high excitement
overexcitement
vsovereagerness
4.1

A time when someone feels very happy or nervous and cannot calm down

is eagerness about excessive wanting rather than mere high energy

Antonyms

indifference
71 4.6

Lack of interest or concern about something

How Eager

overeagerness
1 5.5
enthusiasm
288 2.2
keenness
1 3.6
eagerness
23 2.5
interest
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

overeagerness singular
overeagernesses plural

Morphology

overeagerness = overeager (transparent) = over + eager + ness

The adjective 'overeager' is transparently formed from the productive prefix 'over-' meaning 'excessively' plus 'eager', and the noun is a regular nominalization with '-ness'.

Etymology

Overeagerness comes from the part over- meaning 'too much' and eager meaning 'wanting or excited'. Just like in overdo or overreact, it means being 'too eager', so you are so enthusiastic that you can make mistakes or cause problems.