overplay
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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to put too much stress on the value or importance of.
A charitable biographer had overplayed the man's piety and benevolence.
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Cards. to overestimate the strength of (the cards in one's hand) with consequent loss.
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Golf. to hit (the ball) past the putting green.
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Archaic. outplay.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to exaggerate the importance of
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another word for overact
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to overestimate the worth or strength of one's position
Etymology
Origin of overplay
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Wuttke expects Beijing to be a "subtle negotiator" and "cautious not to overplay their cards."
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
We shouldn't overplay the significance of one council by-election.
From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025
But it’s easy to overestimate and overstate the extent of their leverage, and it’s a hand they can overplay.
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2025
The stark beauty of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist classic, part music hall romp, part abstract painting, was awakened in a production starring two gifted comics who didn’t overplay their slapstick hands, Rainn Wilson and Aasif Mandvi.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2024
"Even with such a negligible quantity as a deserted husband, it is a mistake to overplay the part."
From The Far Horizon by Malet, Lucas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
