overrate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overrated,
past participle, past
-
overrating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overratesimple
-
overratessimple
-
have overratedperfect
-
has overratedperfect
-
am overratingprogressive
-
are overratingprogressive
-
is overratingprogressive
-
have been overratingperfect progressive
-
has been overratingperfect progressive
Past
-
overratedsimple
-
had overratedperfect
-
was overratingprogressive
-
were overratingprogressive
-
had been overratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overrate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One apparent bias: Betting markets tend to overrate underdogs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Many massively overrate their chances of success, and they often can’t even imagine the many things that may go wrong with the next idea they are toying with.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2024
Still, it's important not to overrate what Carlson's leaving means for Fox News.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2023
“It is hard to overrate the importance of the information received through Blake,” Sergei Ivanov, an official for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, told Russian media in 2007.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 26, 2020
You overrate my judgment; sentiment is not in my line; I have done my share in reading books; I 240 do not know that I have got much out of them all.
From Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline A Story of the Development of a Young Girl's Life by Jennie M. Drinkwater
He also says his ideas are more relevant today than ever — especially as Americans develop an anti-science culture that, among other things, drastically overrates the significance of IQ tests.
From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2024
Georgetown, which has played the nation's toughest schedule according to the RPI, is ranked 12th despite a 21-10 record, which probably overrates them by 10-20 spots.
From Slate ● Mar. 11, 2011
Sometimes it seems that Steiner overrates the importance of language; but to him the word is the very essence of humanity.
From Time Magazine Archive
If he underrates his difficulties, or overrates the power of his means of overcoming them, it is his mistake; a mistake for which he is fully responsible.
From The Teacher Or, Moral Influences Employed in the Instruction and Government of the Young by Jacob Abbott
I would venture to suggest that Mr. Greg somewhat overrates in his paper the beneficence of luxury as an agent in the advancement of civilization.
From Lectures and Essays by Goldwin Smith
I often opt for a more casual birthday celebration, as I’ve always felt that group dinners in restaurants are overrated and overpriced, and they’re also not optimal for mingling.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
You didn’t need nine hours of talk radio to absorb it: These Patriots were overrated, these Patriots were regressing, these Patriots were staring at a season they could be worse than the freaking Jets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Yet the steady post-Oscar blowback and general friction surrounding Fennell made me certain I’d overrated it.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Last but not least, Lincoln Riley is an overrated head football coach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2026
“I was trying to get your opinion on Nirvana, possibly the most overrated band of all time?”
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
Lastly, Lee said that the Federal Reserve’s next meeting not being until September will also help support stocks, noting that markets are currently overrating the chances of an interest-rate hike happening next month.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Be wary of overrating Ballage’s 123-yard rushing performance from Week 15.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 21, 2018
I think the ensuing disasters were two-pronged failures — overrating the talent on hand, and not making the right moves to improve the team.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 26, 2012
To be fair to the pundits, a lot of the overrating has come from Christie himself.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2011
They depend upon "inspiration"—a word which is responsible for much of the overrating of such men, and for a good many of their illusions.
From The Story of the Mind by James Mark Baldwin
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
