overactive

[oh-ver-ak-tiv]

adjective

1. exceptionally or excessively active; too active.

overactive

/ ˌəʊvərˈæktɪv /

adjective

1. inordinately active

2. (of the thyroid or adrenal gland, nervous system, etc) functioning at too high a capacity

Other Word Forms

• overactivity noun
• overactiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of overactive¹

First recorded in 1640–50; over- + active

Example Sentences

“I have a prescription for an overactive bladder.”

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She credits what her father jokes is “an overactive sense of justice” to her grandparents, who ran a corner store in Santa Ana in the 1940s.

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Instead, he said that the unusual incident may have been due to the bee colony becoming too large for its beehive and becoming "overactive" when the beekeeper handled it.

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Moriarty, 30, revealed to her Instagram followers on Friday that she was diagnosed last month with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the thyroid becomes overactive.

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HLH is an immune deficiency disorder which happens when certain types of white blood cells, known as histiocytes and lymphocytes, become overactive and attack the body.

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Related Words

• excitable 
• high-strung