overdetermined
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of overdetermined
First recorded in 1915–20; over- + determined
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.
Whereas his documentary films crackle thanks to his unpredictable interactions with his subjects, “The Damned” cannot help but feel slightly overdetermined, the outcomes predestined rather than organically unearthed.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2025
As for Picasso, look for his famously overdetermined meditation on the mythological underpinnings of life when it includes both wife and mistress, “La Minotauromachie,” 1935.
From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2024
But as the Framers could have warned you, a nation that was dreamed up chiefly by lawyers was almost overdetermined to be run into the ground by them one day.
From Slate • Oct. 27, 2023
In times as unnerving and overdetermined as these, pure chaos might be the only rational response.
From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2023
It's strange how we humans are always so overdetermined.
From Claire The Blind Love of a Blind Hero, By a Blind Author by Blades, Leslie Burton
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.
