overrate

verb

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over·rate | \ ˈō-vər-ˌrāt

overrated; overrating; overrates

Definition of overrate

transitive verb

: to rate or value (someone or something) too highly By grossly overrating the danger from Communist agents inside the United States, the scaremongering of the House Un-American Activities Committee boosted the impression that Communist monsters in general were a mythical breed.— Norman Davies … they have an undersized shooting guard … who so vastly overrates his abilities that he declined management's five-year, $50 million extension offer.— Jack McCallum — see also overrated

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Synonyms & Antonyms for overrate

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Examples of overrate in a Sentence

The coach tends to overrate the players on his own team. I think the critics seriously overrated that movie.

Recent Examples on the Web But the victory, like four of his others, came against a bad Bengals defense, and the Browns must be careful not to overrate it. — cleveland, "What Baker Mayfield’s 5-TD victory over the Bengals might mean for his future with the Browns," 31 Oct. 2020 Length can be a tad overrated for interior defenders, but Lynch’s deficient length shows up on tape. — John Owning, Dallas News, "Film room: Best fits available for the Cowboys in the 2020 NFL draft," 25 Apr. 2020 Scott: There is a fear of having my credibility shot by writing this, but Bull Durham has been vastly overrated. — Scott Venci, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Two sports writers drafted their favorite sports movies; who wound up with the better library?," 6 Apr. 2020 The short answer is Howard was largely overrated by many folks over the past couple of seasons. — Brad Biggs, chicagotribune.com, "Bears Q&A: How did the Browns get more for Duke Johnson than the Bears did for Jordan Howard? Is Taylor Gabriel still the fastest Bear? Will Javon Wims make the 53-man roster?," 14 Aug. 2019 While history suggests that blandness to the point of invisibility is not a political asset (does anyone remember Tim Kaine?), the virtues of surprise in the veepstakes are also overrated. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "Who Will Be Joe Biden’s Pick for Vice President?," 27 Apr. 2020 One of my biggest life lessons: Perfection is overrated. — Washington Post, "Better breakfasts, less takeout, more togetherness: Our 2020 food resolutions," 17 Jan. 2020 Policies, even eyebrow-raising ones, are overrated. — Steve Chapman, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Are Democrats blowing their 2020 chance?," 21 June 2019 Also overrated: Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head (except Daufuskie), Texas coast, Panama City, Jersey shore, Alabama and Mississippi beaches, Long Island, Cape Cod (used to be very good, now a 65-mile traffic jam). — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc's Morning Line: Hold on, Mobsters. Today, we're tossing it around the horn.," 12 Feb. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'overrate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.