overact C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes US /ˌoʊvɚˈækt/ UK /ˌəʊvərˈækt/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to perform in an exaggerated or unconvincing manner The young actor tended to overact, flailing his arms in every scene. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to perform in an... exaggerateoverplayhamoverdoemote ↔ Opposites underactunderplay Word family Derived forms overactingoveraction Related forms actaction Etymology AI details From over- ('excessively') plus act, from Latin agere ('to do, drive'). Chiefly theatrical, meaning to perform with exaggeration. agere Latin *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics Actions & Processes External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # overact **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˌoʊvɚˈækt/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌəʊvərˈækt/ ## Meanings 1. to perform in an exaggerated or unconvincing manner ## Examples - The young actor tended to overact, flailing his arms in every scene. ## Synonyms - exaggerate - overplay - ham - overdo - emote ## Antonyms - underact - underplay ## Derived Forms - overacting - overaction ## Related Forms - act - action ## Roots and Affixes - Root: agere - Root: *h₂eǵ- ## Etymology From over- ('excessively') plus act, from Latin agere ('to do, drive'). Chiefly theatrical, meaning to perform with exaggeration. ## AI Etymology Overact is from over- ('excessively') plus act, from Latin agere ('to do, drive'). Chiefly theatrical, meaning to perform with exaggeration. Important recorded forms include agere (Latin) and *h₂eǵ- (Proto-Indo-European). The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers to perform in an exaggerated or unconvincing manner. The wider family includes derived forms such as overacting and overaction and related words such as act and action. ## Topics - Actions & Processes markdown