overthink

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌoʊvɚˈθɪŋk/ UK /ˌəʊvəˈθɪŋk/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to think about something too much or for too long, often anxiously

Stop trying to overthink the decision and trust your instincts.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to think about something... overanalyzeruminate obsess fixate agonize

Opposites

underthink

Word family

Derived forms overthinkingoverthinker

Related forms thinkoverthought

Etymology

A modern compound of over- ('excessively') plus think, from Old English þencan ('to think'). Means to dwell on something to an excessive, often anxious, degree.

ofer Old English þencan Old English

View etymology graph ->

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Describing Qualities

# overthink

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

## Meanings
1. to think about something too much or for too long, often anxiously

## Examples
- Stop trying to overthink the decision and trust your instincts.

## Synonyms
- overanalyze
- ruminate
- obsess
- fixate
- agonize

## Antonyms
- underthink

## Derived Forms
- overthinking
- overthinker

## Related Forms
- think
- overthought

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ofer
- Root: þencan

## Etymology
A modern compound of over- ('excessively') plus think, from Old English þencan ('to think'). Means to dwell on something to an excessive, often anxious, degree.

## AI Etymology
Overthink is a modern compound of over- ('excessively') plus think, from Old English þencan ('to think'). Means to dwell on something to an excessive, often anxious, degree. Important recorded forms include ofer (Old English) and þencan (Old English). The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers to think about something too much or for too long, often anxiously. The wider family includes derived forms such as overthinking and overthinker and related words such as think and overthought.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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overthink

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