overstimulate

American  

[oh-ver-stim-yuh-layt] / ˌoʊ vərˈstɪm yəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

overstimulated, overstimulated

1. to stimulate (something) to an excessive or harmful degree.

2. Physiology. to cause (someone) to experience sensory overload.

3. Physiology. to cause (a gland, nerve, or other organ) to become overactive and produce an abnormal increase in its usual activity.

---

verb (used without object)

overstimulated, overstimulated

1. Physiology. (especially of a gland or nerve) to become overactive and produce an abnormal increase in its usual activity.

Other Word Forms

• overstimulation noun
• overstimulative adjective
• overstimulatory adjective

Explanation

Overstimulate means to overwhelm someone, or make something overactive. Feeling angry, frustrated, or upset in a noisy or brightly lit space might suggest that you're easy to overstimulate. Caffeine might overstimulate your brain and make it difficult to sleep, or loud music which is fun at first might eventually make you feel overwhelmed, or overstimulated. Stimulate means "to provide stimulus or input." Overstimulate means "to provide an overwhelming amount of input."

Example Sentences

The pulsating music, giant inflatables tossed into the crowd and sudden blasts of fog can overstimulate kids.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2025

The smells, lights, textures, and crowds in the ER can overstimulate a person with autism, she said.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2024

Alicia also says day-to-day activities, like grocery shopping, medical appointments and haircuts, have been abandoned, as she prioritises preventing situations that could overstimulate her son.

From BBC • Jan. 3, 2024

Making a room hypertransparent for people who are deaf may overstimulate people who are autistic.

From Scientific American • Mar. 20, 2023

They are overloaded with these expensive, mechanical toys which overstimulate them at first and later bore them.

From Your Child: Today and Tomorrow by Gruenberg, Sidonie Matzner