as in surplus
the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed
the song already borders on the maudlin—the addition of a syrupy string accompaniment would just be overkill
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Recent Examples of overkill
That big ol’ stockpot may suddenly seem like total overkill.
—
Jessica Saari Christensen, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Mar. 2025
That might seem like overkill for a model that only has human-level persuasive writing capabilities.
—Ars Technica, 3 Feb. 2025
Even the Obama administration had not engaged in this kind of prosecutorial overkill.
—The Editors, National Review, 28 Jan. 2025
The investors who had pumped trillions of dollars into tech stocks over the last few years worried whether the tens of billions of dollars that tech companies were spending on new data centers suddenly looked like comic overkill.
—Karen Weise, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overkill
Jessica Saari Christensen, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Mar. 2025
That might seem like overkill for a model that only has human-level persuasive writing capabilities.
—Ars Technica, 3 Feb. 2025
Even the Obama administration had not engaged in this kind of prosecutorial overkill.
—The Editors, National Review, 28 Jan. 2025
The investors who had pumped trillions of dollars into tech stocks over the last few years worried whether the tens of billions of dollars that tech companies were spending on new data centers suddenly looked like comic overkill.
—Karen Weise, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overkill
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overkill
Noun
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But the portion of the decision that raised the most hackles revised the rules so that new rooftop solar customers would no longer be credited at the retail rate of electricity when their systems generated surplus energy.—
Rob Nikolewski,
Mercury News,
2 June 2025
-
The investment bank sees a surplus of 1 million bpd this year and 1.5 million bpd in 2026.—
Spencer Kimball,
CNBC,
2 June 2025
Noun
-
Read More: Lee Jae-myung Aims to Steer South Korea Through Crisis A populist shaped by his years as a labor and human rights lawyer, Lee has long advocated for a stronger state role in redistributing economic gains and curbing the excesses of South Korea’s powerful conglomerates.—
Ian Bremmer,
Time,
3 June 2025
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But the soft power derived from American culture will not survive the excesses of the U.S. government during the next four years if American democracy continues to erode and the country acts as a bully abroad.—
Robert O. Keohane,
Foreign Affairs,
2 June 2025
Noun
-
Diddy is still paying Jane's rent As the day was coming to a close, Jane dropped a bombshell that drew gasps in the overflow room where my colleague Patrick Ryan was seated in.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
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Meanwhile, Jane’s taking the stand drew obvious interest from the media and spectators in the overflow room, with some wondering how someone so close to Diddy became a witness for the prosecution.—
Erik Ortiz,
NBC news,
5 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overkill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overkill. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.
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