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overemphasize

[oh-ver-em-fuh-sahyz]
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verb (used with object), o·ver·em·pha·sized, o·ver·em·pha·siz·ing.
  1. to emphasize excessively.
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verb (used without object), o·ver·em·pha·sized, o·ver·em·pha·siz·ing.
  1. to use excessive emphasis.
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Also especially British, o·ver·em·pha·sise.

Origin of overemphasize

First recorded in 1900–05; over- + emphasize
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for overemphasize

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I do not think it possible to overemphasize Gourmont's sense of beauty.

    Instigations

    Ezra Pound

  • The difficulty lies chiefly in the temptation to overemphasize.

    News Writing

    M. Lyle Spencer

  • We cannot overemphasize the importance of squeezing your trigger.

    The Plattsburg Manual

    O.O. Ellis and E.B. Garey

  • These examples are rather bald, and overemphasize the method in order to make it clear.

    Etiquette

    Emily Post

  • It is practically impossible to overemphasize the importance of the boy's vocational choice.

British Dictionary definitions for overemphasize

overemphasize

overemphasise

verb (tr)
  1. to give excessive emphasis or prominence to (something)
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Derived Formsoveremphasis, 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