over·praise
ˌō-vər-ˈprāz 
overpraised; overpraising
: to praise (someone or something) to an excessive degree
overpraising a mediocre film
He knows he is dealing with a complex personality, someone who has in the past been both overpraised and condemned to excess.—
John Clive
John Clive
over·praise
ˈō-vər-ˌprāz
: an excessive amount of praise
Overpraise can lead to bad habits, some of them incurable—trying to repeat that thing you did so marvelously.—Wilfrid Sheed
Wilfrid SheedExamples of overpraise in a Sentence
Verb
proud parents are likely to overpraise their children for their earnest efforts at making handicrafts
Noun
the piano instructor believes in encouraging her students but avoids any overpraise that might make them complacent
Recent Examples on the Web
Armond White, National Review, 24 May 2023
He’s overpraised of course.
—Nick Laird, The New York Review of Books, 16 Mar. 2023
As in the case of that picture, East of Eden is backed up by masterful screen storytelling that can hardly be overpraised and is complicated by no message that can be termed controversial.
—Jack Moffitt, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2023
Our praise reflex leans toward the superlative in this dank information age, an era when the only artists who transcend the digital noise seem to be the ones whose music gets overpraised on social media for being the most this or the best that.
—Chris Richards, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2023
Vincent Canby’s review in The New York Times seemed hesitant to overpraise the film, which was based on James Leo Herlihy’s 1965 novel of the same name.
—New York Times, 2 June 2021
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Verb
Know-nothings pretend that Schrader’s Bressonian mannerisms reveal the spiritual depths of contemporary crisis, when, in fact, Master Gardener repeats the same social-collapse paranoia that made secular reviewers overpraise the religious, racial, suicide-bomber topics of First Reformed.
—Armond White, National Review, 24 May 2023
He’s overpraised of course.
—Nick Laird, The New York Review of Books, 16 Mar. 2023
As in the case of that picture, East of Eden is backed up by masterful screen storytelling that can hardly be overpraised and is complicated by no message that can be termed controversial.
—Jack Moffitt, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2023
Our praise reflex leans toward the superlative in this dank information age, an era when the only artists who transcend the digital noise seem to be the ones whose music gets overpraised on social media for being the most this or the best that.
—Chris Richards, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2023
Vincent Canby’s review in The New York Times seemed hesitant to overpraise the film, which was based on James Leo Herlihy’s 1965 novel of the same name.
—New York Times, 2 June 2021
Cite this Entry
“Overpraise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overpraise. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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