overcolour

O1V4E1R1C3O1L1O1U1R1

verb

To exaggerate.

Scrabble 15
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Meanings

verbovercolour (third-person singular simple present overcolours, present participle overcolouring, simple past and past participle overcoloured)

present singular third person overcolours · participle present overcolouring · participle past overcoloured · past overcoloured · alternative overcolor

  1. figurativelytransitiveTo exaggerate.

    He was seized after a minute, face to face with his actual comrade, with the impulse to overcolour.

    1903 September 28, Henry James, The Ambassadors, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, 3rd part, page 78
    2 more examples

    But simultaneously, the growing force of her mind's intelligence, wherein was no enthusiasm to misdirect by overcolouring, enabled her to gather more than a suspicion of comparative feebleness in the man stripped of his terrors.

    1895, George Meredith, The Amazing Marriage

    He never sought to gain or augment the confidence of his followers by concealing facts, minimising difficulties, or overcolouring expectations.

    1922, Ronald McNeill, Ulster's Stand For Union
nounovercolour (plural overcolours)

plural overcolours · alternative overcolor

  1. paintingColour that is superimposed on another previously applied to obtain a different gradation, or a particular transparency effect.

Origin

From over- + colour.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

overcolour. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overcolour

MLA

“overcolour.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overcolour. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overcolour,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overcolour.

Source: overcolour on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.