overstate

[ oh-ver-steyt ]

/ ˌoʊ vərˈsteɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR overstate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), o·ver·stat·ed, o·ver·stat·ing.

to state too strongly; exaggerate: to overstate one's position in a controversy.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

overspill, overspin, overspread, overstaff, overstand, overstate, overstatement, overstay, overstayer, oversteer, overstep

Origin of overstate

First recorded in 1630–40; over- + state

SYNONYMS FOR overstate

overstress, embroider, magnify.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR overstate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formso·ver·state·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for overstatement

To define this show of support by major corporations for LGBT equality as a seachange would be no overstatement.
Corporations Are No Longer Silent on LGBT Issues||December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps ascribing a distaste for the Oscar winner and soon-to-be Interstellar star is an overstatement.
Do We Still Hate Anne Hathaway?|Kevin Fallon|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is probably not much of an overstatement to say that Arthur Ochs Sulzberger saved The New York Times.
The Legacy of Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Publisher and CEO of The New York Times|Howard Kurtz|September 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
To call the Canadian publisher Harlequin a monopoly in the romance genre might be an overstatement, but not by much.
How ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Is Shaking Up the Business of the Romance Genre|Chris Berube|June 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST

A source close to Olbermann called the characterization of the incident "a gross overstatement."
Keith Olbermann’s Rage During Current TV Gig|Howard Kurtz|April 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And here it behoves a loyal and grateful disciple to guard himself sedulously against the peril of overstatement.
Matthew Arnold|G. W. E. Russell
Johnson, on hearing this from Boswell, remarked that it must be an overstatement.
Alexander Pope|Leslie Stephen
He alone, faultless in the balance of his exquisite vision, was saved quite from this danger of overstatement.
Things seen in Spain|C. Gasquoine Hartley
He wished his answer to be not an overstatement, but the exact truth.
The Portygee|Joseph Crosby Lincoln
To assert the contrary is to weaken one's case by overstatement.
Vivisection|Albert Leffingwell

British Dictionary definitions for overstatement

overstate

/ (ˌəʊvəˈsteɪt) /

verb

(tr) to state too strongly; exaggerate or overemphasize

Derived Formsoverstatement, 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

Word Origin and History for overstatement (1 of 2)

overstatement

1803, from over- + statement.

Word Origin and History for overstatement (1 of 2)

overstate

1630s, "assume too much grandeur;" see over- + state (n.1). Meaning "state too strongly" is attested from 1798, from state (v.). Related: Overstated, overstating.