overzealous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- overzealously adverb
- overzealousness noun
Etymology
Origin of overzealous
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.
They’re overzealous because the law is very clear that oversight of these markets is the exclusive province of the federal government.
From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026
At the height of the #MeToo movement, some in France denounced the collective reckoning over sexual harassment as “puritanism,” arguing that overzealous misconduct allegations risked undermining sexual freedom.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 5, 2025
The film opens with our feline encountering a pack of overzealous canines in the blooming forest before napping in a seemingly abandoned Northern European-inspired home.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2024
Again, that wasn’t enough for the overzealous Bailey, and he fought Hemme’s release in the courts.
From Slate • Aug. 9, 2024
The warrant officer in charge of field exercises is the commandant, an overzealous schoolmaster named Bastian with an expansive walk and a round belly and a coat quivering with war medals.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
