Meanings
present singular third person overuses · participle present overusing · participle past overused · past overused
- transitiveTo use too much of (something); to use (it) too often.
Another group argues that the diagnosis is being overused and that many of the diagnosed cases are iatrogenic, or unintentionally shaped or caused by the practitioner
2003, Michael L. Raulin, Abnormal Psychology, Pearson Education, Inc., page 4942 more examples
On a summer visit back to the farm here where I grew up, I think I figured out the central problem with modern industrial agriculture. It’s not just that it produces unhealthy food, mishandles waste and overuses antibiotics in ways that harm us all.
2009 August 22, Nicholas Kristof, “Food for the Soul”, in The New York TimesTherapeutic zeal is express in a number of ways, some of them quite obvious, others subtle. A therapeutic manner that is too self-assured and controlling is a dead giveaway. Other obvious signs of therapeutic zeal include getting annoyed or openly frustrated with patients who do not change in the way the therapist desires; "blaming" the patient by vidictively attributing lack of results to more severe pathology than was intially assumed; or overusing such terms as passive aggressive and poorly motivated.
2018, John W. Barnhill, Approach to the Psychiatric Patient, page 451Synonyms: overwork
- uncountableexcessive use
There’s an occasional schmaltziness, aggravated by the overuse of a twangy score, but more than enough moments of genuine heartbreak, joy and suspense to make up for it.
2015 July 5, Mike Hale, “Review: ‘Tough Love’ on PBS Examines Custody Battles With the State”, in The New York Times
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo use too much of (something); to use (it) too often.
More synonyms by meaning
nounexploitation to the point of diminishing returns
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*úp
- Proto-Indo-European*upér
- Proto-Germanic*uber
- Old Englishofer-
- Middle Englishover-
- Englishover-
- Englishuse
- Englishoveruse
Translations
Czech nadužívání
- nadužíváníexcessive use
Esperanto trouzi
- trouziTo use too much of
Finnish käyttää liikaa, liikakäyttö
- käyttää liikaaTo use too much of
- liikakäyttöexcessive use
French surutiliser, galvauder
- surutiliserTo use too much of
- galvauderTo use too much of
- surutilisationexcessive use
Polish nadużycie, nadużywanie
- nadużycieexcessive use
- nadużywanieexcessive use
Russian злоупотребля́ть, злоупотребле́ние
- злоупотребля́ть (zloupotrebljátʹ)To use too much of
- злоупотребле́ние (zloupotreblénije)excessive use
Spanish usar con exceso, sobreutilizar
- usar con excesoTo use too much of
- sobreutilizarTo use too much of
- desperdiciarTo use too much of
- trillarTo use too much of
- sobreúsoexcessive use
- sobreutilizaciónexcessive use
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with overuse
Cite this entry
overuse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overuse
“overuse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overuse. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overuse,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overuse.
Source: overuse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.