overelaborate

[ adjective oh-ver-i-lab-er-it; verb oh-ver-i-lab-uh-reyt ]

adjective

1. excessively or fussily elaborate, ornate, detailed, etc.

verb (used with object)

, o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ed, o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ing.

1. to render or present with excessive or fussy detail:

   He so overelaborates his jokes that they lose their humor.

verb (used without object)

, o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ed, o·ver·e·lab·o·rat·ing.

1. to add excessive details, as in writing or speaking:

   He overelaborates to an extent that his novels must be cut radically before being published.

overelaborate

adjective

1. excessively ornate, detailed, or complex

verb

1. tr to detail or develop (an idea, plan, etc) excessively

Derived Forms

• ˌovereˌlaboˈration, noun

Other Words From

• over·e·labo·rate·ly adverb
• over·e·labo·ration over·e·labo·rate·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of overelaborate¹

over- + elaborate

Example Sentences

What happens next in “Devil House” is complicated, and I want to be careful not to overelaborate.

From New York Times

The overelaborate surfaces seem to evoke globalization as a simple excess.

From New York Times

Are we still waiting around for Toni Morrison’s rather wordy and overelaborate sentences to let themselves be “more clearly interpreted?”

From Washington Post

“You get the sense that Southgate has been part of the team when England have bowled into town, declared themselves favorites and crashed out playing these horribly imbalanced teams full of stars, and overelaborate systems they barely understand. He knows what traps to avoid”.

From Reuters

But he will follow a tactical plan, he will not overelaborate and he will devastate a full-back who gives him half a chance.

From The Guardian

Related Words

• baroque
• beautiful
• elegant
• embroidered
• fancy
• gaudy
• gilded
• glamorous
• lavish
• magnificent
• opulent
• rococo
• sparkling
• sumptuous