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

These cases have raised concerns about overzealous responses from companies, and left many companies unsure of how to proceed. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025

The resulting cuddle is a touch overzealous, with Mila climbing on top of her brother in the bouncer and bouncing up and down, but her heart is in the right place. —Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025

Parsons was asked on Tuesday, ahead of Thursday night’s Packers-Commanders tilt at Lambeau Field, about picking your spots when rushing against Daniels, given his ability to make an overzealous rush plan backfire by escaping the pocket. —Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025

Over the years, many works have been painted over by overzealous municipal workers, stolen by members of the public, or chipped away from the wall to be sold. —Rebecca Schneid, Time, 10 Sep. 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