overjustify

O1V4E1R1J8U1S1T1I1F4Y4

verb

To justify excessively; to provide too much justification for.

OriginEnglish justify ← Middle English over- ← Old English ofer- →
Scrabble 27
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Meanings

verboverjustify (third-person singular simple present overjustifies, present participle overjustifying, simple past and past participle overjustified)

present singular third person overjustifies · participle present overjustifying · participle past overjustified · past overjustified

  1. transitiveTo justify excessively; to provide too much justification for.
  2. transitivehuman sciencesSpecifically, to provide external incentive for an already-internally-motivated behavior, thereby risking the loss of the original motivation.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Germanic*uber
  4. Old Englishofer-
  5. Middle Englishover-
  6. Englishover-
  7. Englishjustify
  8. Englishoverjustify

From over- + justify.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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