to overexert oneself
3
7.2
- phrasal verb
- /ˌoʊvərɪɡˈzɜrt wʌnˈsɛlf/
:
sobreesforzarse
- Just as a triathlete who overexerts himself in the water ends up struggling during the subsequent bicycle race, a terrorist group that pours its resources into acquiring a nuclear weapon may have a tougher time moving that bomb to its target.
- want to overexert yourself
Examples
-
Don't overexert yourself.
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Don't go overexerting yourself, now.
-
My guess is that Sam overexerted himself.
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Doctor said she overexerted herself.
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When she returns home, we'll want her to stay active, but don't let her overexert herself.
Fiction book (2000) -
She has seizures from time to time, when she has overexerted herself.
-
You'll overexert yourself.
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It's important to pace yourself during exercise; don't overexert yourself too quickly.
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To avoid injury, be careful not to overexert yourself during the workout.
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She felt dizzy after she overexerted herself while running a marathon.
Synonyms
87
4.2
To use a lot of effort to do something difficult
58
3.6
Do something too much, more than needed
45
4.4
To do something more than is needed
19
6.3
To try to do more than you can handle and cause strain
15
4.1
To make someone work too much so they become very tired or ill
12
5.9
To give someone too much work or responsibility
9
8.1
To work too hard and make yourself very tired or sick
7
5.1
Make a person or thing work as hard as possible until they cannot keep going
4
6.5
Make more effort than your body or mind can handle
1
4.4
To put too much strain on the body or mind
1
5.5
To push someone or something beyond what they can manage
1
6.9
To make a big effort beyond your usual limits
To push yourself or something too hard so it breaks and you become very tired
To make someone very tired by doing too much without rest
To work very hard at something until you are very tired
To do very hard, long tasks until you are very tired
Antonyms
How Strenuous
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'overexert' already encodes the idea of pushing oneself too hard and the reflexive 'oneself' simply indicates the action is performed on the subject, so the combined meaning ('to push oneself too hard') is directly derivable from the parts. This is a standard reflexive/morphological composition found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand the expression.
Etymology
Overexert oneself shows a clear picture: the parts over, exert, and oneself mean using your own energy too hard. Imagine lifting a heavy load or working so long you collapse; that's why overexert oneself means pushing your body or mind 'more than is healthy'.