as in to stereotype
to use so much as to make less appealing
she had overused that joke to the point where it was eliciting groans and not guffaws
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overuse
When pelvic floor muscles are being overused, used improperly, or are weak, your running gait may be less efficient and powerful, Rogers says.
—
Jordan Smith, Outside, 11 Sep. 2025
Annabelle has been in so many movies now, to the point of being overused (the real doll has even been suspected of paranormal activity recently).
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The redemption story is overused in sports, but Anisimova coming back from a double-bagel Wimbledon final defeat against Iga Świątek to beat the same player a couple of months later was extraordinary.
—The Athletic Tennis Staff, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Just like credit scores today, which are, at best, meaningful heuristics but are grossly overused, the technology sometimes became a substitute for common sense.
—Brian Hamilton, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overuse
Jordan Smith, Outside, 11 Sep. 2025
Annabelle has been in so many movies now, to the point of being overused (the real doll has even been suspected of paranormal activity recently).
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The redemption story is overused in sports, but Anisimova coming back from a double-bagel Wimbledon final defeat against Iga Świątek to beat the same player a couple of months later was extraordinary.
—The Athletic Tennis Staff, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Just like credit scores today, which are, at best, meaningful heuristics but are grossly overused, the technology sometimes became a substitute for common sense.
—Brian Hamilton, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overuse
Verb
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Among many challenges, the next president of the church will navigate how to lead a global church from its American headquarters – a church that continues to be misunderstood and stereotyped, sometimes to the point of violence.—
Brittany Romanello,
The Conversation,
10 Oct. 2025
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That absence increases the risk of caricature and stereotyping in AI image outputs of the Black community.—
Donnetta Monk,
Essence,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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If there's too much ambient light, night mode might let in too much and overexpose your photos.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Nov. 2025
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Unfortunately, Showgirl is the sound of an overworked and overexposed entertainer reaching the mountaintop to find something worse than disappointment: burnout.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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At the same time, his friend John Martin of Smirnoff vodka was desperate to popularize vodka in America.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
20 Oct. 2025
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The influential music star, born Michael D’Angelo Archer, is credited with helping popularize neo-soul — a genre of modern R&B and soul flavored with hip-hop, funk, rock and other influences.—
Melinda Yao,
NBC news,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His versions were full-blooded, with lush strings and reasonably large orchestras — and, purists alleged — vulgarizing distortions.—
BostonGlobe.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
28 Oct. 2019
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Ever since his rise to power, Trump has served as a vulgarizing agent.—
Leon Neyfakh,
Slate Magazine,
2 June 2017
Verb
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The team concentrated on stars that had recently entered the post-main sequence phase, having exhausted their hydrogen, and identified just 130 planets and planet candidates orbiting nearby – 33 of which had not been detected before.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Nov. 2025
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Despite these real dangers, our law enforcement shows incredible restraint in exhausting all options before force is escalated.—
James Hill,
ABC News,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And Carys is certainly embracing shopping her mom's previous red carpet picks — even to the point of possibly overdoing it.—
Alex Apatoff,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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Unlike horror movies built on shadowy boogeymen bouncing out of the dark, The Witch's tone stays quiet, swarming around themes of bewitchery, black magic, and wickedness without overdoing it.—
Michael Lee Simpson,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His certainly-not-boring tale mortified numerous colleagues, including Crick, who even tried to block the book's publication.—
Nell Greenfieldboyce,
NPR,
7 Nov. 2025
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This solid colored wool rug was the perfect neutral-but-not-boring option to balance out the space between visuals editor Lizzie Soufleris’ living room and dining area.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overuse. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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