Definition of overplay
transitive verb
1a : to present (a dramatic role) extravagantly : exaggerateb : to place too much emphasis on
2 : to rely too much on the strength of —usually used in the phrase overplay one's hand
3 : to strike a golf ball beyond (a putting green)
intransitive verb
: to exaggerate a part or effect
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Examples of overplay in a Sentence
The network news overplayed the story just to get good ratings.
He overplayed the death scene.
Recent Examples of overplay from the Web
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Romero has overplayed his hand, but Usher isn't going to do anything about it yet.
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The dialogue can occasionally feel a bit canned, as if lifted from a lesser sitcom, and the author overplays the scenes of his narrator as a feckless, self-loathing alcoholic, endlessly recycling glimpses of him drunk, drying out and drunk again.
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But, the cynic in me can’t help but note that the Iran connection was overplayed last winter.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'overplay'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of overplay
1767
OVERPLAY Defined for English Language Learners
overplay
playDefinition of overplay for English Language Learners
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: to give too much attention to (something) : to make (something) seem more important than it really is
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: to show too much emotion when acting in a play, movie, etc.
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