overzealous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of overzealous
Explanation
Overzealous describes someone who gets too excited about something, like your mom, the overzealous collector of cute kitten figurines that now fill every table and shelf in the house. If you're overzealous about something, you've gone too far, and you're probably starting to scare people. Parents who are overzealous about keeping their kids safe may not allow them out of the house — ever. If you are overzealous about conserving water, you might shower a little too infrequently, or scold people for washing their cars. Most people understand that you mean well, and that's why you are so intense.
Vocabulary lists containing overzealous
The Book Thief
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This Week in Pop Culture: January 26 - February 1, 2019
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100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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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.
The Times and the Pentagon Press Association have said the government’s moves are overzealous and retaliatory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
They’re overzealous because the law is very clear that oversight of these markets is the exclusive province of the federal government.
From Barron's ● Mar. 28, 2026
The film opens with our feline encountering a pack of overzealous canines in the blooming forest before napping in a seemingly abandoned Northern European-inspired home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024
As with the Carroll case, it’s impossible to blame this latest civil suit on overzealous prosecutors.
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2024
The warrant officer in charge of field exercises is the commandant, an overzealous schoolmaster named Bastian with an expansive walk and a round belly and a coat quivering with war medals.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
