overact

English

Etymology

From over- +‎ act.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌəʊvəɹˈækt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Verb

overact (third-person singular simple present overacts, present participle overacting, simple past and past participle overacted)

1. (chiefly acting) To act in an exaggerated manner.

   He overacted his part.

   • 1989, Susheela Bhan, Terrorism: an Annotated Bibliography, page 116:

     If governments overact and become oppressive, the terrorists will have won, for their theory is that repression will eventually lead to revolution.

   • 2016, Leslie H. Abramson, Hitchcock & the Anxiety of Authorship:

     The scenework proves unsuccessful when Carmichael recalls not the source of her misandry but another episode of overacting, that of castratively biting off the moustache of an amorous man.

2. (obsolete, transitive) To act upon, or influence, unduly.
   • 1670, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in The History of Britain, that Part Especially now Call’d England. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for James Allestry, […] , →OCLC:

     The hope of inheritance overacts them.

   • 1695, John Whitefoot, A Discourse upon I. Peter IV. VIII., Cambridge: John Hayes, page 16:

     The χαμολνία, Humicubation, lying upon ground, &c. which things have been overacted, and still are in the Greek and Roman Churches.

Synonyms

• chew the scenery, ham, ham it up, melodramatize, tear a cat

Derived terms

• overactor

Translations

act in an exaggerated manner

• Bulgarian: преигравам (preigravam)
• Dutch: overacteren (nl)
• Finnish: ylinäytellä
• German: übertrieben spielen, übertreiben (de)
• Hungarian: eltúloz (hu), túljátszik (hu)
• Indonesian: lajak tingkah, laku lajak (id)
• Italian: gigioneggiare (it)
• Portuguese: exagerar (pt)
• Russian: переигрывать (ru) (pereigryvatʹ)
• Spanish: sobreactuar (es)