Standard Lemma guide

overly

adj · adv · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: OW1 V ER0 L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Superficial; not thorough; careless, negligent, inattentive.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Having a sense of superiority, haughty.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Excessive; too great.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adv

Meaning 4

To an excessive degree.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, proscribed, sometimes

Examples

  • Parents can be overly protective of their children.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: too, excessively, superfluously

Antonyms: none provided

5

adv

Meaning 5

To a high degree; very.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: negative, not-comparable, usually

Examples

  • I'm not overly enthusiastic about meeting him.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adv

Meaning 6

Superficially.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, obsolete

Examples

  • 1566, Thomas Blundeville, The Fower Chiefyst Offices Belongyng to Horsemanshippe, London, “The true Arte of Paring, and shooyng all maner of Houes together [...] ,” Chapter 5, [...] let him not touche the quarters nor the heeles at al, vnlesse it be to make the seat of the shoe playne, & let that be done so superficially or ouerly as maye be, so shall the houes remayne alwayes strong.
  • 1678, George Mackenzie, The Laws and Customes of Scotland, in Matters Criminal, Edinburgh, Part 1, “Some Crimes punished amongst the Romans, which are not directly in use with us,” p. 347, [...] I resolved here to touch overly even those crimes which are little considered among us, not only that we might thereby know the genius of that wise Nation; but that we may consider how far it were fit to renew amongst us these excellent Laws.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adv

Meaning 7

Carelessly, without due attention.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adv

Meaning 8

With a sense of superiority, haughtily.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

adverb

Meaning 9

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • too big

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: excessively, to a fault, too

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Proto-West Germanic *obar Old English ofer Middle English over English over Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-West Germanic *-līk Old English -līċ Middle English -ly English -ly English overly From over + -ly (adjectival suffix).

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Proto-West Germanic *obar Old English ofer Middle English over English over Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English overly From over + -ly (adverbial suffix).

Across languages

Translations

35 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: твърде (tvǎrde) — to an excessive degree
  • Bulgarian: прекомерно (prekomerno) — to an excessive degree
  • Catalan: excessivament — to an excessive degree
  • Chinese Mandarin: 過於 /过于 (guòyú) — to an excessive degree
  • Chinese Mandarin: 過分 /过分 (guòfèn) — to an excessive degree
  • Chinese Mandarin: 過度地 /过度地 (guòdù de) — to an excessive degree
  • Chinese Mandarin: 極度地 /极度地 (jídù de) — to an excessive degree
  • Chinese Mandarin: 太 (tài) — to an excessive degree
  • Finnish: liian — to an excessive degree
  • Finnish: yli- — to an excessive degree
  • French: trop — to an excessive degree
  • Galician: excesivamente — to an excessive degree
  • Georgian: ზედმეტად (zedmeṭad) — to an excessive degree
  • Georgian: მეტისმეტად (meṭismeṭad) — to an excessive degree
  • Georgian: გადაჭარბებულად (gadač̣arbebulad) — to an excessive degree
  • German: allzu — to an excessive degree
  • German: übermäßig — to an excessive degree
  • Irish: ró- — to an excessive degree
  • Japanese: あまりに (amari ni) — to an excessive degree
  • Japanese: 過度に (kado ni) — to an excessive degree
  • Japanese: とても (totemo) — to an excessive degree
  • Japanese: とっても (tottemo) — to an excessive degree
  • Polish: nadmiernie — to an excessive degree
  • Polish: zbytnio — to an excessive degree
  • Portuguese: demais — to an excessive degree
  • Portuguese: excessivamente — to an excessive degree
  • Portuguese: exageradamente — to an excessive degree
  • Russian: чрезме́рно (črezmérno) — to an excessive degree
  • Russian: сли́шком (slíškom) — to an excessive degree
  • Russian: изли́шне (izlíšne) — to an excessive degree
  • Russian: избы́точно (izbýtočno) — to an excessive degree
  • Spanish: demasiadamente — to an excessive degree
  • Spanish: excesivamente — to an excessive degree
  • Swedish: alltför — to an excessive degree
  • Swedish: över- — to an excessive degree
Real reading context

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