overlearn

American  

[oh-ver-lurn] / ˌoʊ vərˈlɜrn /

verb (used with object)

Education.

overlearned, overlearnt, overlearning

1. to learn or memorize beyond the point of proficiency or immediate recall.

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Etymology

Origin of overlearn

First recorded in 1870–75; over- + learn

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

overlearn overlearned overlearning

She added, “I would be hesitant to overlearn the lessons of the pandemic.”

From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2020

Good work, however, won’t be denied, even if Broadway producers have perhaps overlearned the lesson of last year’s sleeper, Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

“He’s overlearned the Merkel style,” Mr. Kleine-Brockhoff of the German Marshall Fund said.

From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2022

Even with their head stuffed with briefing books, quick quips hoping to be defining gaffes and legions of overlearned stump speeches at hand, uncertainty lurks.

From US News ● Sep. 23, 2016

Our problem patterns are overlearned and take on a life of their own as habits.

From Forbes ● Aug. 8, 2015

The U.S. may have overlearned the lesson, but it is an instruction that at least < tends in the right direction.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was a classic case of overlearning the lesson of the last crisis — the Lafayette Square incident — and misjudging the current one.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 18, 2021

Excess practice on, and overlearning of, certain bonds is thus very often justifiable.

From The Psychology of Arithmetic by Edward L. (Edward Lee) Thorndike

The need for overlearning, for permanent retention, must be made clear.

From How to Teach by George Drayton Strayer

How much overlearning is necessary, each child should find out for himself.

From How to Teach by George Drayton Strayer

In certain cases, however, such excess practice and overlearning are actually desirable.

From The Psychology of Arithmetic by Edward L. (Edward Lee) Thorndike