1
as in to overemphasize
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Recent Examples of overplay
And powerful people tend to overplay their hands.
—
Brent Lang, Variety, 30 Dec. 2025
Advertisement China might overplay its hand—that remains a real danger.
—Kerry Brown, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
But Barkley suggested the players should be careful to not overplay their hand.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025
While there are risks for Democrats to overplay their hand in several blue states, members of the party warn there’s risk for their GOP counterparts in red states just the same.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overplay
Brent Lang, Variety, 30 Dec. 2025
Advertisement China might overplay its hand—that remains a real danger.
—Kerry Brown, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
But Barkley suggested the players should be careful to not overplay their hand.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025
While there are risks for Democrats to overplay their hand in several blue states, members of the party warn there’s risk for their GOP counterparts in red states just the same.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overplay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overplay
Verb
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The report overemphasized the effect of ChatGPT.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
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Finally, advocates can respond to the argument that merit overemphasizes achievements and undervalues people.—
Kenji Yoshino,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Eric McDaniel, a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, said the post diverged from the manner in which previous administrations have characterized papal disagreements, often underplaying dissent but stopping short of falsely implying agreement.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
21 Jan. 2026
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Japan’s Moment To Continue A moment is probably underplaying it a little.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Glass block, reflective surfaces, and matchy sets are '80s trends that are easy to overdo, designers say.—
Lacey Ramburger,
The Spruce,
19 Feb. 2026
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Learn how often to water your succulent plants to avoid overdoing it.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On-screen, the speech’s prestige can overwhelm its existential subject matter, and the passage tends to get overacted.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
15 Dec. 2025
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Snook and Lacy, who display such sharp instincts in their best work, seem to have been directed to overact; cameras freeze on their exaggeratedly bewildered or angry or devastated expressions, putting exclamation points at the end of too many scenes.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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He was accused of exaggerating his actions following King’s assassination and making anti-Semitic remarks.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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The last thing anyone should want to do in such a scenario is exaggerate the reality of a health situation.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Apply it retroactively That necessary restriction would apply retroactively, even if the bill is enacted later.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Feb. 2026
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Crockett emphasized that people need to play their part in enacting change.—
Elissa Jorgensen,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Landay also says the role AI is playing in software development is overstated in the essay.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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There have been reports linking the Braves to free-agent starter Lucas Giolito, but any connection between the parties has been overstated, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.—
Gabriel Burns,
AJC.com,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Fleming acts out each detail with gusto, and this full sensory barrage earns him his loudest round of applause yet.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
19 Feb. 2026
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Emotional humans acting out conflicts will never be able to operate a society that values life, liberty and the pursuit of universal happiness.—
Roger Van Zanen,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overplay. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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