overkill en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈoʊ.vɚˌkɪl/ (US)
- /ˈəʊ.vəˌkɪl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- English over- Dutch kilbor. English kill English overkill From over- + kill.
Meanings
-
(literally, uncountable) A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.
[The] increase in nuclear missiles available to the West was operationally unnecessary and would only add to the existing nuclear overkill; mixed manning was a formula for military disaster; […]
1990, Sir William Godfrey Fothergill Jackson, Britain's Defence Dilemma: An Inside View : Rethinking British Defence Policy in the Post-imperial Era, B. T. Batsford Limited:
-
(literally, uncountable) Destruction beyond what is necessary to kill, especially in murder.
Bodies that have been stabbed or shot multiple times—far beyond what was sufficient to kill the victim (overkill)— suggest that the victim and assailant knew each other, […]
2017, James M. O'Kane, Wicked Deeds: Murder in America, Routledge, →ISBN:"Trans people generally don't get stabbed once; they get stabbed 20 times, shot, burned and thrown into a dumpster." […] Their killers, in displaying an especially virulent form of hatred, often went from murder to overkill, attempting to obliterate their victims, perhaps in an attempt to erase them completely, […]
2020, Laurel Westbrook, Unlivable Lives: Violence and Identity in Transgender Activism, →ISBN, page 101:For some killers with a great deal of love/hate for their victims, it [an edged weapon] is the perfect instrument for a maniacal overkill.
2018, Lt. James Glennon, Lt. Daniel Marcou, Chuck Remsberg, Street Survival II: Tactics for Deadly Force Encounters, Calibre Press, →ISBN:
-
(broadly, uncountable) An unnecessary excess of whatever is needed to achieve a goal.
Should I give you yet more homework, or would that be overkill?
24 hours of TV coverage of the US election verged on overkill.
This is a live concert album, a good choice because it allows for simpler instrumental backup and avoids the studio overkill that would be inappropriate for such a forthright album.
1984 August 4, Maida Tilchen, “Sex, Politics, and Good Vibes”, in Gay Community News, page 8:
- (uncountable) An unnecessary excess of disposal because of too high criteria of inspection.
Antonyms
Translations (30)
el υπερβολή (unnecessary excess) · it eccessivo (unnecessary excess) · es demasía (unnecessary excess) · ru перевыполнение (unnecessary excess) · el υπέρβαση (unnecessary excess) · es desmesura (unnecessary excess) · pt exagero (unnecessary excess) · fi liioittelu (unnecessary excess) · de Overkill (unnecessary excess) · ru переги́б (unnecessary excess) · es exageración (unnecessary excess) · es excesivo (unnecessary excess) · es exceso (unnecessary excess) · grc ὑπέρβασις (unnecessary excess) · fi liika (unnecessary excess) · de Übermaß (unnecessary excess) · cs kanón na vrabce (unnecessary excess) · pl przesada (unnecessary excess) · ru из пу́шки по воробья́м (unnecessary excess) · es superávit (unnecessary excess) · es pasarse tres pueblos (unnecessary excess) · hu ágyúval lő verébre (unnecessary excess) · grc ὑπερβολή (unnecessary excess) · es desmesuramiento (unnecessary excess) · id berlebih-lebihan (unnecessary excess) · id berlebihan (unnecessary excess) · fr excès (unnecessary excess) · fr surpuissance (unnecessary excess) · ru перебо́р (unnecessary excess) · es matar moscas a cañonazos (unnecessary excess)