1
as in overemphasizes
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Dissimilar Words
2
as in underplays
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overplays
Verb
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If women ski as long as the men do and don’t do it as quickly, that ratio gets out of whack and overemphasizes skiing for the women and not for the men.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026 -
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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The same prime minister who exaggerates his power is also fine with being portrayed as the patsy of more influential actors.—
Aluf Benn,
Foreign Affairs,
10 Nov. 2025
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Tainy’s Prometheus — is portrayed by Feid, dressed in an oversized leather coat and lit in a manner that exaggerates his grills in an eerie way.—
Juan J. Arroyo,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Alexander’s staging occasionally overdoes the comic exuberance.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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But Maura never overdoes the feisty granny bit.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The siting of the rites at the Colosseum—where it has been held since 1964, echoing a practice from the eighteenth century—means that the Pope enacts Jesus’ final hours not in a Baroque basilica but against the backdrop of the Roman Empire, which exercised power through violence.—
Paul Elie,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
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Waymo doesn’t plan to launch its service in Minnesota until the state enacts new laws to set up basic regulations.—
Alex Derosier,
Twin Cities,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The algorithm, and the economy that supports it, first escalates speech that overstates the emotions that underlie it.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
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Some medical experts, however, say Kennedy on occasion overstates the role that food can play in preventing and managing illnesses.—
Cindy Krischer Goodman,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Overplays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overplays. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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