overelaborate

[ adjective oh-ver-i-lab-er-it; verb oh-ver-i-lab-uh-reyt ]

adjective
  1. excessively or fussily elaborate, ornate, detailed, etc.

verb (used with object),o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ed, o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ing.
  1. to render or present with excessive or fussy detail: He so overelaborates his jokes that they lose their humor.

verb (used without object),o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ed, o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ing.
  1. 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

1

Other 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.

  • It ought not to look overelaborate, even though it is spangled with silver or crystal or is made of sheer lace.

    Etiquette | Emily Post
  • It was a Cosway; but a Cosway broadened and without a hint of genteel namby-pamby or overelaborate finesse.

    Visionaries | James Huneker
  • It is a work unique, perhaps, in its design, but entirely unfeeling and preposterous in its overelaborate decorations.

  • We 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

overelaborate

adjective(ˌəʊvərɪˈlæbərɪt)
  1. excessively ornate, detailed, or complex

verb(ˌəʊvərɪˈlæbəˌreɪt)
  1. (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