overliterary

adjective

over·​lit·​er·​ary ˌō-vər-ˈli-tə-ˌrer-ē How to pronounce overliterary (audio)
: literary to an excessive degree
overliterary dialogue
There is a phenomenon known as bad, pretentious, and overliterary writing. Nineteenth-century America produced reams of it.Darryl Lorenzo

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overliterary was in 1853

Dictionary Entries Near overliterary

Cite this Entry

“Overliterary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overliterary. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!