overdevelop

American  

[oh-ver-di-vel-uhp] / ˌoʊ vər dɪˈvɛl əp /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to develop to excess.

   to overdevelop a photograph; to overdevelop a waterfront area.

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overdevelop British  

/ ˌəʊvədɪˈvɛləp /

verb

1. to develop too much or too far

2. photog to process (a film, plate, or print) in developer for more than the required time, at too great a concentration, etc

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Other Word Forms

• overdevelopment noun

Etymology

Origin of overdevelop

First recorded in 1835–45; over- + develop

Example Sentences

They overdevelop, recklessly dump plastic and commit great violence to delicate marine ecosystems.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2022

“The tendency often is to overdevelop parks, make them much more infrastructure and much less natural.”

From Washington Times • Jan. 5, 2020

He explains, "We think now that the right brain tends to overdevelop in order to compensate for left-brain injury or other prenatal influences that cause underdevelopment of the left side."

From Time Magazine Archive

On the other hand, we may spend an unnecessary amount of time and overdevelop the work of those same pages, and have the whole lesson lose all its zest.

From The Teaching of Geometry by Smith, David Eugene