overprescribe

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verb

To prescribe (a drug) more frequently than appropriate.

Opposite
underprescribe
OriginEnglish prescribe ← Latin praescrībō ← Middle English over- →
Scrabble 22
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Meanings

verboverprescribe (third-person singular simple present overprescribes, present participle overprescribing, simple past and past participle overprescribed)

present singular third person overprescribes · participle present overprescribing · participle past overprescribed · past overprescribed

  1. transitiveTo prescribe (a drug) more frequently than appropriate.

    The drug maker Purdue Pharma has agreed […] to settle complaints that it encouraged physicians to overprescribe its painkiller OxyContin.

    2007 May 9, The Associated Press, “Painkiller’s Maker Settles Complaint”, in New York Times

    Antonyms: underprescribe

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo prescribe (a drug) more frequently than appropriate.

Opposite
underprescribe

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Germanic*uber
  4. Old Englishofer-
  5. Middle Englishover-
  6. Englishover-
  7. Latinpraescrībō
  8. Englishprescribe
  9. Englishoverprescribe

From over- + prescribe.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

overprescribe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overprescribe

MLA

“overprescribe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overprescribe. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overprescribe,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overprescribe.

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