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overfond

overfond

8.1
Liking someone or something too much to be sensible
  • adjective
  • /ˌoʊvərˈfɑnd/
translation icon : excesivamente afectuoso
  • Despite her friends' teasing, she is overfond of collecting vintage postcards.

Examples

  • For me, the Bard is overfond of his kings.

  • However... ...he is not overfond of Dwarves.

  • He is the headmaster, overfond of caning.

  • After three or four months, most of them grew weary of learning and stopped coming, their parents not obliging them, who are generally so overfond of their children and, having but little value for learning, thinking it a useless thing, will not force their children against their inclinations if they have not a mind to learn themselves.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Her parents were overfond of her artwork, always praising every piece she created.

  • He is overfond of ice cream, often indulging in several scoops every day.

Synonyms

soft on
vsoverfond
35 8.0

Too kind to someone and not strict when they behave badly

is excessive affection without implying foolish judgment
taken with
vsoverfond
  • Informal
16 7.1

Feeling a strong liking for someone or something, often very quickly

is unduly attached but tends to be steadier, not always sudden
infatuated
vsoverfond
11 6.1

Feeling a very strong but short attraction to someone, often without reason

is excessive liking that may last longer rather than be brief
enamored
vsoverfond
  • US
5 6.8

Very much in love with a person, place, or thing

is excessive affection but not always intensely irrational
besotted
vsoverfond
1 7.2

Very much in love with someone or something and often thinking only about them

is excessive affection rather than full obsessive state

Antonyms

dislike
  • Texting
49 1.0

A feeling of not liking someone or something

46 4.4

Not interested or showing no strong feeling about something

How Fond

obsessed
245 4.8
overfond
8.1
affectionate
56 2.2
fond
223 1.0
indifferent
46 4.4

Surface Forms

overfond positive
overfonder comparative
overfondest superlative

Morphology

overfond = fond (transparent) = over + fond

The productive prefix 'over-' meaning 'excessively' combines directly with 'fond' to yield the expected meaning.

Etymology

The word overfond joins the prefix over- meaning 'too much' and fond meaning 'having a strong liking'. So, to be overfond is to like someone or something 'too much'.