overpromise

verb

over·​prom·​ise ˌō-vər-ˈprä-məs 

overpromised; overpromising

transitive + intransitive

: to promise more than is possible or realistic

Political candidates always overpromise or else the electorate won't bother to show up at their rallies.

—Michael Gomez

… received sharp criticism for overpromising and underperforming.

—Industry Week

Then a change in the Facebook algorithm punished click bait, which can tend to overpromise on what it links to. Steep traffic drops followed.

—Jim Rutenberg

To close a deal, bad vendors tend to overpromise features that they claim will be added down the line but never materialize.

—Michael Kan

Examples of overpromise in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On top of all that, Musk — who has a history of overpromising and missing deadlines by years — plans to launch Tesla’s driverless ride-hailing service next month in Austin. —Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 28 May 2025

After all, plenty of government agencies overpromise and underdeliver. —Sally Pipes, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

The lesson for Slate is clear: don’t overpromise and underdeliver. —Utkarsh Sood, New Atlas, 13 May 2025

Eli Lilly doesn’t want to overpromise, get the stock higher on hype. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 1 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overpromise

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize