overspecific

o·ver·spe·cif·ic
O1V4E1R1S1P3E1C3I1F4I1C3
UK/ˌəʊvəspɪˈsɪfɪk/US/ˌoʊvɚspɪˈsɪfɪk/

adjective

Too specific; with too much detail.

Scrabble 24

Meanings

adjectiveoverspecific (comparative more overspecific, superlative most overspecific)

comparative more overspecific · superlative most overspecific

  1. Too specific; with too much detail.

    However, it is important to understand that overgeneral and overspecific rules can emerge and play a role in solving both clean and noisy problems.

    2017, Ryan J. Urbanowicz, Will N. Browne, Introduction to Learning Classifier Systems, Springer, →ISBN, page 29
    2 more examples

    Moreover, the course in technical writing cannot be called narrow and overspecific inasmuch as the elements composing it remain constant, and the training which it gives the students is of permanent value regardless of any advance in engineering science.

    1918, Homer A. Watt, “The Wisconsin Course in the Composition of Technical Papers”, in Bulletin of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, volume VIII, number 3, page 119

    Rorschach confabulations can be excessively broad or narrow in scope. They might involve the unfolding of a dramatic elaboration or a lengthy tangential or circumstantial commentary, on the one hand; or they may be crisply overspecific, on the other.

    2013, James H. Kleiger, Disordered Thinking and the Rorschach: Theory, Research, and Differential Diagnosis, Routledge, →ISBN, page 182

Origin

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with overspecific

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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