overstrung
Americanadjective
-
overly tense or sensitive; strained; on edge.
Their nerves were badly overstrung.
-
Archery. (of a bow) strung too tightly.
adjective
-
too highly strung; tense
-
(of a piano) having two sets of strings crossing each other at an oblique angle
Etymology
Origin of overstrung
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.
Yes, overstrung, gaudily painted, honky tonk joannas for passersby to hammer out jazz standards on, which – naturally – many appeared to be able to do.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 5, 2016
Both teams were overstrung, playing crazily in their eagerness to win.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was about two in the morning when the fellows made their rush, a band of Ghazees leading it, and I'll own that we were all a little overstrung.
From Blake's Burden by Bindloss, Harold
Probably it was the state of my health, which was very queer at that time, which had converted me into a terribly sensitive, overstrung, fanciful spirit-seer.
From The Serapion Brethren, Vol. I. by Hoffmann, Ernst Theodor Wilhelm
The terror and distress she had undergone had done their worst; and the necessity for exertion past, the overstrung nerves gave way beneath the unwonted tension.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846 by Various
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.
