overwrought

[oh-ver-rawt, oh-ver-] / ˈoʊ vərˈrɔt, ˌoʊ vər- /

ADJECTIVE

exhausted and excited

Synonyms

STRONGEST

frantic

WEAK

affected agitated all shook up beside oneself crazy distracted emotional excitable fired-up flipped-out freaked-out histrionic histrionical hot under collar hot-and-bothered hyper in a state nervous neurotic on edge overexcited overstrung overworked spent steamed up stirred strung-out tense tired uneasy unstrung uptight weary wired worked-up worn wound-up

Antonyms

WEAK

calm collected cool rested unruffled

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It's all a bit overwrought for my taste.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

Its empirics are weak External link, its theory underspecified External link, and its narrative overwrought.

From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026

Del Toro’s work is just as overwrought, just as bogged down by ideas and just as keen to emphasize style over narrative substance as Fennell’s.

From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026

More often, it’s because everyone in the child’s social circle is using a smartphone to access social media, and children tell their parents—no doubt in overwrought terms—that being left out would be social suicide.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

They don’t like the way he seems, worrying to Theo that Vincent is “exaggerated and overwrought, quoting at random from the Bible....It is a bitter, bitter shame.”

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

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