overbroad

adjective

over·​broad ˌō-vər-ˈbrȯd 

: too widely applicable or applied : excessively broad

an overbroad interpretation of the statute

… a litigant challenging an overbroad law …

—Laurence H. Tribe

… was reckless in its assignment of unnecessary and overbroad surveillance powers.

—The New York Times

But he tends, at times, to draw overbroad generalizations from his personal experience.

—Alexander Stille

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

But the report also pointed to how overbroad and undue guardianships are increasing, and how there remains a lack of knowledge about alternatives. —Washington Post, 14 July 2021

And the Supreme Court on Thursday continued its streak of reining in overbroad prosecutions with two unanimous decisions tossing fraud convictions against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s cronies. —The Editorial Board, wsj.com, 12 May 2023

The policy, known as Department Order 914, has previously been ruled overbroad and unconstitutional and has resulted in thousands of books, magazines and CDs being banned in Arizona prisons. —Jimmy Jenkins, The Arizona Republic, 28 Jan. 2022

In Kagan’s telling, Humphrey’s Executor, Morrison, and a handful of smaller cases aren’t exceptions to Myers, but conscious efforts by subsequent justices to limit a flawed and overbroad holding. —Matt Ford, The New Republic, 2 July 2020

Trump’s claims that the subpoena, to his accountants at Mazars USA, was issued in bad faith and is overbroad. —Bob Van Voris, Bloomberg.com, 1 Sep. 2020

Those customers are required to report ordinary local accounts to the IRS under the overbroad Fatca law, which was meant to target tax evasion via secret overseas accounts. —Peter Spiro, wsj.com, 2 Apr. 2023

Justice Amy Coney Barrett noted at one point, for instance, that the defendants found relatively few instances of overbroad prosecutions despite the provision’s long history, suggesting that the defendant and his allies might not have that much to worry about. —Matt Ford, The New Republic, 30 Mar. 2023

But as a result of the subsequent controversy over Hannah-Jones’s overbroad claim, the entire project — more than 10,000 words by many authors — was demagogically cast as the flawed, perhaps treasonous work of a single person. —Wesley Lowery, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

overbroad

adjective

over·​broad

ˌō-vər-ˈbrȯd

: not sufficiently restricted to a specific subject or purpose

an overbroad search

especially : characterized by a prohibition or chilling effect on constitutionally protected conduct

an overbroad statute

compare vague