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.

“Othello,” which runs 134 minutes with two intermissions, feels weighed down by overwrought dramatic gestures enacting Shakespeare’s tragic narrative.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

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

From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026

The year 2025 was more tumultuous than any silly football game and its accompanying overwrought metaphors.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2025

But in the case of this maudlin, overwrought drama, “keep your eyes open” would be a more fitting demand.

From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025

In the days after, I watched the ridiculous pageantry of flags, the machismo of firemen, the overwrought slogans.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Vocabulary lists containing overwrought

The Phantom Tollbooth

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