1
as in to overemphasize
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Recent Examples of overplay
But on stage, the sophomoric snaps are overplayed (and fairly raunchy for Indiana high schoolers in the 1950s); the energy is replaced by speed; and the emotions are always fraught.
—
Frank Rizzo, Variety, 23 Apr. 2025
Perhaps the Administration became impatient with the university and, as a result, overplayed its hand.
—Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2025
The Lakers set up a similar alignment on their next possession, but Brooks overplayed the screen Reaves was setting for James by turning his body parallel to the baseline between James and Reaves.
—Khobi Price, Oc Register, 5 Apr. 2025
Britain's Liberals were slow to recognize the growing momentum of the women's suffrage movement and progressive Democrats have overplayed their hand on race and gender.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overplay
Frank Rizzo, Variety, 23 Apr. 2025
Perhaps the Administration became impatient with the university and, as a result, overplayed its hand.
—Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2025
The Lakers set up a similar alignment on their next possession, but Brooks overplayed the screen Reaves was setting for James by turning his body parallel to the baseline between James and Reaves.
—Khobi Price, Oc Register, 5 Apr. 2025
Britain's Liberals were slow to recognize the growing momentum of the women's suffrage movement and progressive Democrats have overplayed their hand on race and gender.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overplay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overplay
Verb
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Worse yet, overemphasizing happiness can create a performative culture where employees feel pressured to fake positive emotions.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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Erik Spoelstra, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo recognized Butler’s impact but didn’t want to overemphasize the meaning of Tuesday.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But his performance as the coldly confident Conway is still an excellent part of the world Scorsese constructs, and De Niro underplays to excellent effects.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
24 Mar. 2025
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By de-emphasizing the will of not just Poles but also Ukrainians, Hubris underplays the key factor that brought Putin to the point of annexing Crimea in 2014: Ukraine’s fervent hope for closer trade ties with the EU.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Yet abroad, Germans are still caricatured as Nazis, and the remembrance culture plays a part by overdoing it.—
Mark Sappenfield,
Christian Science Monitor,
2 May 2025
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Reflect what the job is looking for, but don't overdo it—listing nine to 12 skills is sufficient. 3.—
Franklin Buchanan,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The college student performers from the Hartt School aren’t encouraged to overact during the party scene anymore — no more drunk jokes or pratfalls.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
11 Dec. 2024
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One could easily be accused of overacting, of doing too much.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Coffey seemed to exaggerate it, throwing her hands up while going down.—
Fernando Ramirez,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 May 2025
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The movie exaggerates the struggles Scaravella faced.—
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz,
StyleCaster,
9 May 2025
Verb
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House Republicans defended a bill that would enact sweeping tax cuts, raise the debt ceiling, and add restrictions to benefit programs during a heated marathon day of committee hearings on Capitol Hill.—
Riley Beggin,
USA Today,
13 May 2025
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The Trump administration hopes the plan will be enacted by July 4.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 May 2025
Verb
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By contrast, wholesale egg prices -- the amount grocers pay to suppliers -- have dropped significantly since Trump took office, though Trump appeared to overstate the amount of decline during the ABC News interview.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2025
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Arguing that church leaders have overstated the damage, supporters of restoring the historic St. Peter Church in New Britain have filed for an injunction to block the archdiocese from demolishing the 125-year-old building.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Sides were separated, and the officials determined nobody had acted out enough to warrant an ejection.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2025
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But, by high school, Weisberger started acting out at home and getting into trouble at school — and with the law — his father told the Herald in the months after Pascal’s murder.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overplay. Accessed 19 May. 2025.
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