overelaborate
excessively or fussily elaborate, ornate, detailed, etc.
to render or present with excessive or fussy detail: He so overelaborates his jokes that they lose their humor.
to add excessive details, as in writing or speaking: He overelaborates to an extent that his novels must be cut radically before being published.
Origin of overelaborate
1Other words from overelaborate
- o·ver·e·lab·o·rate·ly, adverb
- o·ver·e·lab·o·ra·tion, o·ver·e·lab·o·rate·ness, noun
Words Nearby overelaborate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use overelaborate in a sentence
"I see," said I—for Mr. Brisher is apt to overelaborate his jokes.
Twelve Stories and a Dream | H. G. WellsIt ought not to look overelaborate, even though it is spangled with silver or crystal or is made of sheer lace.
Etiquette | Emily PostIt was a Cosway; but a Cosway broadened and without a hint of genteel namby-pamby or overelaborate finesse.
Visionaries | James HunekerIt is a work unique, perhaps, in its design, but entirely unfeeling and preposterous in its overelaborate decorations.
The Cathedrals of Southern France | Francis MiltounWe had had two meals, one of which was as totally unnecessary as the other was overelaborate.
The Message | Alec John Dawson
British Dictionary definitions for overelaborate
excessively ornate, detailed, or complex
(tr) to detail or develop (an idea, plan, etc) excessively
Derived forms of overelaborate
- overelaboration, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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