overprotect

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˌoʊvɚprəˈtɛkt/ UK /ˌəʊvəprəˈtɛkt/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to guard or shield someone excessively

Parents who overprotect their children can stunt their independence.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to guard or shield someone... coddle mollycoddle shield shelter cosset smother

Opposites

neglect abandon expose

Word family

Derived forms overprotectiveoverprotection

Related forms protect protection

Etymology

From over- ('excessively') plus protect, from Latin protegere ('to cover in front'), from pro- ('in front') plus tegere ('to cover').

prōtegere Latin tegere Latin

View etymology graph ->

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Actions & Processes

# overprotect

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˌoʊvɚprəˈtɛkt
**IPA (UK):** ˌəʊvəprəˈtɛkt

## Meanings
1. to guard or shield someone excessively

## Examples
- Parents who overprotect their children can stunt their independence.

## Synonyms
- coddle
- mollycoddle
- shield
- shelter
- cosset
- smother

## Antonyms
- neglect
- abandon
- expose

## Derived Forms
- overprotective
- overprotection

## Related Forms
- protect
- protection

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: prōtegere
- Root: tegere

## Etymology
From over- ('excessively') plus protect, from Latin protegere ('to cover in front'), from pro- ('in front') plus tegere ('to cover').

## AI Etymology
Overprotect is from over- ('excessively') plus protect, from Latin protegere ('to cover in front'), from pro- ('in front') plus tegere ('to cover'). Important recorded forms include prōtegere (Latin) and tegere (Latin). The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers to guard or shield someone excessively. The wider family includes derived forms such as overprotective and overprotection and related words such as protect and protection.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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overprotect

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