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definitions

overelaborate

[adjective oh-ver-i-lab-er-it; verb oh-ver-i-lab-uh-reyt]
See more synonyms for overelaborate on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. excessively or fussily elaborate, ornate, detailed, etc.
verb (used with object), o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ed, o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ing.
  1. to render or present with excessive or fussy detail: He so overelaborates his jokes that they lose their humor.
verb (used without object), o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ed, o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ing.
  1. to add excessive details, as in writing or speaking: He overelaborates to an extent that his novels must be cut radically before being published.

Origin of overelaborate

over- + elaborate
Related formso·ver·e·lab·o·rate·ly, adverbo·ver·e·lab·o·ra·tion, o·ver·e·lab·o·rate·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for overelaborate

beautiful, gilded, glamorous, lavish, sumptuous, sparkling, magnificent, opulent, elegant, fancy, baroque, rococo, gaudy, embroidered, embellish, overdo, color, overstate, distend, lie

Examples from the Web for overelaborate

Historical Examples of overelaborate

  • We had had two meals, one of which was as totally unnecessary as the other was overelaborate.

    The Message

    Alec John Dawson

  • "I see," said I—for Mr. Brisher is apt to overelaborate his jokes.

  • It is a work unique, perhaps, in its design, but entirely unfeeling and preposterous in its overelaborate decorations.

  • It was a Cosway; but a Cosway broadened and without a hint of genteel namby-pamby or overelaborate finesse.

    Visionaries

    James Huneker

British Dictionary definitions for overelaborate

overelaborate

adjective (ˌəʊvərɪˈlæbərɪt)
  1. excessively ornate, detailed, or complex
verb (ˌəʊvərɪˈlæbəˌreɪt)
  1. (tr) to detail or develop (an idea, plan, etc) excessively
Derived Formsoverelaboration, noun
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