overprotective
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of overprotective
First recorded in 1925–30; over- + protective
Vocabulary lists containing overprotective
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.
Between arguments with her overprotective mother, Jersey, Ali finds solace learning to play the piano under the tutelage of Miss Liza Jane, an elderly tenant in the family’s subsidized artist housing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
For many years American Jewish writing seemed to be all about sons—sons launched from Chicago, Brooklyn and the Bronx, sons of overprotective mothers, comics punning on “the son also rises.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
That can make people vulnerable, and it can also make well-intentioned children overprotective.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 1, 2025
Joel is overprotective to the extent of control.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2023
“That’s not fair. Sephran’s good at what he does. They’re all good musicians, and overprotective of me, just like real wives.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
