This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
overplay
[ oh-ver-pley ]
/ ˌoʊ vərˈpleɪ /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
verb (used with object)
to exaggerate or overemphasize (one's role in a play, an emotion, an effect, etc.): The young actor overplayed Hamlet shamelessly. The director of the movie had overplayed the pathos.
to put too much stress on the value or importance of: A charitable biographer had overplayed the man's piety and benevolence.
Cards. to overestimate the strength of (the cards in one's hand) with consequent loss.
Golf. to hit (the ball) past the putting green.
Archaic. outplay.
verb (used without object)
to exaggerate one's part, an effect, etc.; overact: Without a firm director she invariably overplays.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Words nearby overplay
overpass, overpay, overpeople, overpersuade, overpitch, overplay, overplus, overpolice, overpopulate, overpopulated, overpopulation
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use overplay in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for overplay
overplay
/ (ˌəʊvəˈpleɪ) /
verb
(tr) to exaggerate the importance of
another word for overact
overplay one's hand to overestimate the worth or strength of one's position
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