overelaborate

[ adjective oh-ver-i-lab-er-it; verb oh-ver-i-lab-uh-reyt ]

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.

overelaborate

adjective

1. excessively ornate, detailed, or complex

verb

1. tr to detail or develop (an idea, plan, etc) excessively

Derived Forms

• ˌovereˌlaboˈration, noun

Other Words From

• over·e·labo·rate·ly adverb
• over·e·labo·ration over·e·labo·rate·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of overelaborate¹

over- + elaborate

Example Sentences

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

From Project Gutenberg

It ought not to look overelaborate, even though it is spangled with silver or crystal or is made of sheer lace.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• baroque
• beautiful
• elegant
• embroidered
• fancy
• gaudy
• gilded
• glamorous
• lavish
• magnificent
• opulent
• rococo
• sparkling
• sumptuous