as in too
beyond a normal or acceptable limit
there's no need to be overly careful about the rough draft, since we'll polish it afterwards
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Recent Examples of overly
Simple is best, and in the case of a Germany kit, that means plain, with no need to incorporate the colours of the nation’s flag or any overly intrusive trim.
—
Steve Madeley, New York Times, 29 June 2025
And that's the thread that got lost in last year's lackluster third season, where vibes and an overly artsy structure got in the way of just seeing this trio in a room together, preferably a kitchen.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 27 June 2025
Early on in season 2, which premiered on June 25, AJ Blount made waves for what others on the show perceived as her overly flirty behavior.
—Joelle Goldstein, People.com, 27 June 2025
They're not overly explained or turned into a seminar, which is a blessing these days.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for overly
Steve Madeley, New York Times, 29 June 2025
And that's the thread that got lost in last year's lackluster third season, where vibes and an overly artsy structure got in the way of just seeing this trio in a room together, preferably a kitchen.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 27 June 2025
Early on in season 2, which premiered on June 25, AJ Blount made waves for what others on the show perceived as her overly flirty behavior.
—Joelle Goldstein, People.com, 27 June 2025
They're not overly explained or turned into a seminar, which is a blessing these days.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for overly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overly
Adverb
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Furthermore, the definition of disabled is often too narrow: more than one third of non-working adults classified as able-bodied by SNAP report having a disability that impedes their ability to work.—
Emily Eisner,
New York Daily News,
29 June 2025
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People who rely on Medicaid access and funds for federal food aid would come out on the short end of the stick under the plan, too.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
29 June 2025
Adverb
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Overemphasizing uncertainties can be used to raise doubt and unduly undermine confidence in robust findings.—
H. Christopher Frey,
The Conversation,
5 June 2025
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That bill imposed a $10,000 ceiling, which the blue-state GOP lawmakers said unduly punished their area’s homeowners, who suddenly had a massively larger tax bill.—
Tobias Burns,
The Hill,
2 June 2025
Adverb
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Her long, dark hair was messily waved, hanging past her shoulders like a shawl, while her eyebrows were shaved extremely thin, leaving little room for any expression other than a sly smile.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
1 July 2025
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While both the House and Senate bills proposed language that was extremely harmful to the pass-through entity community, the final Senate bill passed made significant modifications that will encourage continued investments via pass through entities.—
Lynn Mucenski Keck,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overly. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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