overregulate

O1V4E1R1R1E1G2U1L1A1T1E1

verb

To regulate to a greater degree than appropriate.

OriginEnglish regulate ← Middle English over- ← Old English ofer- →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

verboverregulate (third-person singular simple present overregulates, present participle overregulating, simple past and past participle overregulated)

present singular third person overregulates · participle present overregulating · participle past overregulated · past overregulated

  1. To regulate to a greater degree than appropriate.

    “It’s not a question of overregulating or underregulating.

    2008 March 20, Diana B. Henriques, “Commodities: Latest Boom, Plentiful Risk”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2021

Origin

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

From over- + regulate.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

overregulate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overregulate

MLA

“overregulate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overregulate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overregulate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overregulate.

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