overmedicate

verb

over·​med·​i·​cate ˌō-vər-ˈme-də-ˌkāt 

overmedicated; overmedicating

transitive verb

: to administer too much medication to

Avoid overmedicating patients prior to surgery.

: to prescribe too much medication for

But some doctors are increasingly wary about overmedicating people with osteopenia.

—Harvard Health Letter

overmedicated adjective

But the question remains: Is America grossly overmedicated?

—Andrea Bartz

overmedication

ˌō-vər-ˌme-də-ˈkā-shən 

noun

Many others are victims of a system that traffics in superfluous equipment, unnecessary and potentially harmful surgery, overmedication, and questionable procedures.

—Consumer Reports

Examples of overmedicate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Prosecutors say the murders were calculated, while Clancy's defense argues that she was overmedicated and suffering from extreme postpartum psychosis. — Penny Kmitt, CBS News, 31 July 2026

Lindsay does not dispute killing her children, but her defense argues that she was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum psychosis. — Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026

Prosecutors appeared to begin chipping away at the defense’s portrayal of Lindsay Clancy as overmedicated, walking jurors through nine prescription bottles that still contained many of the pills she had been given. — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026

Solstice East had previously been accused of abusive practices, including placing kids in seclusion for days on end and overmedicating a student to the point of hospitalization. — Rachel Hale, USA Today, 11 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overmedicate

• borosilicate
• decontaminate
• deoxycholate
• deteriorate
• differentiate
• diisocyanate
• dinoflagellate
• excommunicate
• incapacitate
• insubordinate
• intercorporate
• interpenetrate

Medical Definition

overmedicate

verb

over·​med·​i·​cate -ˈmed-i-ˌkāt 

overmedicated; overmedicating

transitive verb

: to administer too much medication to : prescribe too much medication for

intransitive verb

: to administer or prescribe too much medication

overmedication

-ˌmed-i-ˈkā-shən 

noun