overzealous

adjective

over·​zeal·​ous ˌō-vər-ˈze-ləs 

: too zealous : having or showing too much zeal : excessively eager, enthusiastic, or fervent

overzealous parents

overzealous workers

… another version of the overzealous monitoring that has produced kids who leave for college without ever having crossed the street by themselves.

—Peggy Orenstein

The village saw the orders as unwarranted interference from an overzealous state bureaucracy and promptly appealed.

—Joe Treen and S. Avery Brown

overzealously adverb

… has been frequently accused by its critics of acting recklessly, overzealously, and even, at times, illegally.

—Steve Lustgarden

overzealousness noun

Jewell was annoyed that press descriptions of him always emphasized his "overzealousness"; he considers himself a man of details.

—Marie Brenner

Examples of overzealous in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Leather, denim and skin have been the quintessential uniform of rock ‘n’ roll since the ’60s, but the brazen style has taken a back seat in recent years to relaxed fits, overzealous stylists and head-to-looks plucked straight from the runway. —Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 15 Dec. 2025

Others spoke about needing to bridge the gap between overzealous AI believers (who might be chasing AI for AI’s sake) and AI skeptics. —Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2025

This drop in consumption coincides with an inventory backlog left over from the California wine industry’s overzealous response to a pandemic-era surge in consumer appetite. —Kelli María Korducki, thehustle.co, 5 Dec. 2025

The guard at the Paddock opened the gate to admit me, but two overzealous bookies rushed us. —Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overzealous

• bellis
• felis
• fellas
• jealous
• pelisse
• trellis
• zealous
• michaelis
• nucellus
• ocellus