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Showing results for overemphasis. Search instead for overemphatic.
Definitions

overemphasis

[oh-ver-em-fuh-sis] / ˌoʊ vərˈɛm fə sɪs /
NOUN
exaggeration
Synonyms
STRONGEST
baloney excess fabrication falsehood fantasy hyperbole misjudgment misrepresentation untruth
STRONG
aggrandizement amplification boasting caricature coloring crock elaboration embroidery emphasis enlargement exaltation extravagance fancy hogwash inflation line magnification overestimation pretension pretentiousness rant romance stretch whopper yarn
WEAK
figure of speech fish story flight of fancy jazz tall story
Antonyms
STRONGEST
truth
STRONG
compression decrease lessening shrinkage
WEAK
minimization reduction understatement unembellishment
NOUN
sensationalism
Synonyms
STRONG
aggrandizement boasting excess fabrication hype hyperbole puffery whopper
WEAK
fish story tabloid journalism tall story yellow journalism
NOUN
tall talk
Synonyms
WEAK
aggrandizement amplification baloney boasting caricature crock elaboration embroidery enlargement exaltation excess extravagance fabrication falsehood fancy fantasy figure of speech fish story flight of fancy hogwash hyperbole hyperbolism inflation jazz line magnification misjudgment misrepresentation overestimation overstatement pretension pretentiousness rant romance stretch tall story untruth whopper yarn

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.

An overemphasis on winning risks rewarding the vigilant while exhausting everyone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

Thomas Dee, a Stanford University education professor and economist, warns that an overemphasis on telling parents to send their children to school with a cold could backfire.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2025

The study, published last week in Nature Sustainability, found that an overemphasis on recycling has distracted us from better options for preventing waste.

From Salon • Aug. 7, 2023

Ultimately, it’s the epiphanies and insights that make it possible to enjoy, without too much guilt, the flat-out entertainment of “Some Like It Hot,” including its groaners, overemphasis and old-school gags.

From New York Times • Dec. 11, 2022

The overemphasis upon preaching, the general passion of this generation for talk and then more talk, and then endless talk, is perfectly intelligible in view of the regulative ideas of this generation.

From Preaching and Paganism by Fitch, Albert Parker