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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Inherent in their definition is a sense of shared fate—a counter to a version of food consumption that overemphasizes individual choice.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
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Paternalistic tactics, such as overemphasizing IUDs and implants, undermined young people’s reproductive health preferences and goals.—
Riley J. Steiner,
STAT,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Not to underplay the seriousness of the situation, of course, but the suspect never made it inside.—
Amber Harding OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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Sometimes the functional sibling learns to compensate or cover for the dysfunctional one, to underplay strengths or wear a mask.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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However, homeowners often overdo it.—
Natasha Bazika,
Martha Stewart,
24 Apr. 2026
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Herzog naturally plays up the enigma at hand with epic grandeur, occasionally overdoing it but usually hitting the mark.—
Eric Kohn,
IndieWire,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That secret shakes Charlie’s love for his intended, messes with work, affects his performance in bed and prompts him to spiral out, overacting at every step.—
Mark Kennedy,
Boston Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
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Adrien Brody can’t stop overacting in a commercial for TurboTax.—
Dee-Ann Durbin,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This was borrowed directly from American sports reporters, with their propensity to exaggerate to make a point, often by citing absurd numbers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
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Goldman Sachs’ David Mericle suggests this reading has perhaps been exaggerated.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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An interim report from the Royal Commission released in April, which examined the capacity of Australian law enforcement and the security services to respond to antisemitic crimes, recommended that Australia’s leaders prioritize enacting nationally consistent gun laws and a weapons buyback.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2026
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This act interferes greatly with local departments of planning and development for erroneous climate protocols enacted by Ronald Regan.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
Verb
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While agreeing that the FPV drones were a new challenge, Zehavi cautioned against overstating their impact.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Apr. 2026
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His impact on the music education of Crown Point students can not be overstated.—
Cyril A. Reinicke,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The company accused Musk of acting out of personal motives.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Apr. 2026
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Garcia says, acting out the usual blush of so many bewildered men.—
Darío Gael Blanco,
Vanity Fair,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overplay. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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