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

“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

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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