overrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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overrates,
present (3rd person singular)
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overrated,
past participle, past
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overrating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overratesimple
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overratessimple
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have overratedperfect
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has overratedperfect
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am overratingprogressive
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are overratingprogressive
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is overratingprogressive
-
have been overratingperfect progressive
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has been overratingperfect progressive
Past
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overratedsimple
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had overratedperfect
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was overratingprogressive
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were overratingprogressive
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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:
“I think people overrate the benefits of decentralization, or how religiously someone has to adhere to it,” said Cosmo Jiang, general partner at crypto venture firm Pantera Capital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 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
It may be said in answer to this question, first, that in the case of none of the traits do all the individuals consistently either overrate or underrate themselves.
From Vocational Psychology: Its Problems and Methods by Harry L. Hollingworth
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
My time is a good deal taken up," she said rather stiffly; "but Signora Grassini overrates the importance of my occupations.
From The Gadfly by E. L. (Ethel Lillian) Voynich
Think of all the adjectives that make for admiration, and you have scarce employed one that overrates the dignified and stately air of the High Street of Marlborough.
From The Bath Road History, Fashion, & Frivolity on an Old Highway by Charles G. (Charles George) Harper
I hope they woke the child up to see the crazy finish, because they’ll never forget it, and school is overrated, anyway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Last but not least, Lincoln Riley is an overrated head football coach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2026
Everyone is concentrating on social media, and I think it’s overrated.
From Slate ● Nov. 19, 2025
Stablecoin’s run is even more impressive given that its stability is overrated.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2025
Now that I’ve gotten a taste of the world beyond our little corner of the Puget Sound, I can safely say that venturing out on your own is overrated.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
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
Cæsar had previously made overtures to Cicero, which the orator, overrating his influence and relying upon the support of Pompey, had rejected.
From A Smaller History of Rome by Sir William Smith
Definitions 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.
