overreact

[ oh-ver-ree-akt ]

See synonyms for overreact on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to react or respond more strongly than is necessary or appropriate.

Origin of overreact

First recorded in 1960–65; over- + react

Other words from overreact

o·ver·re·ac·tion, noun

Words Nearby overreact

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use overreact in a sentence

Most of the time my reaction to stuff on Nextdoor is that people are overreacting.
D.C.’s 911 center saw a spike in suspicious-activity calls after Capitol riot | Fredrick Kunkle | February 19, 2021 | Washington Post
This is true even if he’s right that you’re overreacting, which he might be.
Carolyn Hax: Mom married a jerk, but never let it be said that she raised one | Carolyn Hax | November 29, 2020 | Washington Post
I’ll just be reminding myself not to overreact to how the polls change after tonight.
Will The First Presidential Debate Shake Up The Race? | Sarah Frostenson (sarah.frostenson@abc.com) | September 29, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
Maybe people have overreacted about how things will look in a post-pandemic world.
Why even the best stocks have to crash | Ben Carlson | September 13, 2020 | Fortune
While the return to normal pay shows that the bumpiest months of the crisis are over, sources at many of the publications that made cuts cautioned against overreacting.
While cut media company pay might be returning soon, confidence in the ad marketplace not on the horizon | Max Willens | September 2, 2020 | Digiday

Nobody should overreact here, and they should think through the consequences of their actions.
BP, Putin, and the Power of Oil | Tim Teeman | March 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
That's why human beings are evolved to overreact to certain kind of threats.
We Shouldn't Treat Terrorism the Way We Treat Bathroom Falls | Megan McArdle | June 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Schools get shot up and everybody has their solution, and we often overreact.
NRA President: Don't 'Overreact' to Newtown Shooting | Lloyd Grove | December 23, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Obama administration should not only react judiciously, it should also try to persuade Congress not to overreact either.
The Palestinian Choice—And Ours | Hussein Ibish | November 26, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
We should not be surprised when they occur, and most importantly we should not overreact if one is eventually successful.
Al Qaeda On the Ropes | P.J. Crowley | May 2, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for overreact

overreact

/ (ˌəʊvərɪˈækt) /

verb

(intr) to react excessively to something

Derived forms of overreact

overreaction, 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

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