overdone
[oh-ver-duhn]
- past participle of overdo.
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- cooked too long or too much: The roast was overdone. I dislike overdone steak.
- excessive or strained; exaggerated: Don't you think his politeness is overdone?
- overtaxed; exhausted: You're looking a bit overdone from that hike.
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Origin of overdone
overdo
[oh-ver-doo]
- to do to excess; overindulge in: to overdo dieting.
- to carry to excess or beyond the proper limit: He puts on so much charm that he overdoes it.
- to overact (a part); exaggerate.
- to overtax the strength of; fatigue; exhaust.
- to cook too much or too long; overcook: Don't overdo the hamburgers.
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- to do too much; go to an extreme: Exercise is good but you mustn't overdo.
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Origin of overdo
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for overdone
Contemporary Examples
As with any exercise, it can be overdone to the point of diminishing returns and negative health consequences.
The “reaction to shutdowns is overdone,” wrote Michael Goldfarb.
What the Rest of the World Thinks of America’s ShutdownOctober 3, 2013
At 143 minutes and with a $225 million price tag, Man of Steel feels overlong and overdone.
Cook has no chemistry with Wolf, who is overdone and annoying all on her own.
They were the only clients in the grand, overdone dining room, and as French intellectuals will do, they talked endlessly.
Historical Examples
Linda realized that she had overdone her disinterestedness a trifle.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
I tell you I was overdone with this terrific weather that seemed to have no end to it.
The Secret SharerJoseph Conrad
Its humor, too, is of a worthier sort, less likely to be forced and overdone.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, CompleteAlbert Bigelow Paine
It was vulgar, it was overdone, it was absurd, but it was alive.
Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles DickensG. K. Chesterton
He sat down amid a dead silence, conscious he had overdone it.
Follow My leaderTalbot Baines Reed
overdo
- to take or carry too far; do to excess
- to exaggerate, overelaborate, or overplay
- to cook or bake too long
- overdo it or overdo things to overtax one's strength, capacity, etc
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for overdone
adj.
Old English ofer-done "carried to excess;" see overdo. Of cooking from 1680s.
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overdo
v.
Old English oferdon "to do too much," from ofer (see over) + don (see do (v.)). Common Germanic (cf. Old High German ubartuan). Meaning "to overtax, exhaust" (especially in phrase to overdo it) is attested from 1817. Of food, "to cook too long," first recorded 1680s (in past participle adjective overdone).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper