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.

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

The situation is so overwrought in this episode.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026

Pace Mr. Miller, it didn’t advocate freedom for the sake of freedom, or elections as a good in themselves, even if the overwrought text of Mr. Bush’s Second Inaugural address lent itself to that parody.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

But the woman I see standing before me is rattled, wide-eyed, and overwrought.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Vocabulary lists containing overwrought

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