Dictionary

overuse en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˌoʊvɚˈjuːs/ (US)
• /ˌəʊvəˈjuːs/ (UK)
• ō'vərjo͞os (US)

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- English use English overuse From over- + use.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) excessive 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:

Translations (8)

es sobreúso (excessive use) · ru злоупотребле́ние (excessive use) · es sobreutilización (excessive use) · pl nadużywanie (excessive use) · cs nadužívání (excessive use) · fr surutilisation (excessive use) · fi liikakäyttö (excessive use) · pl nadużycie (excessive use)

overuse en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌəʊvəˈjuːz/ (UK)
• ō'vərjo͞oz (US)
• /ˌoʊvɚˈjuːz/ (US)
• (Southern-England) audio

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- English use English overuse From over- + use.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To use too much of (something); to use (it) too often.
   • 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 Times:
   • Therapeutic 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 451:
   • 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 494:

Forms

Synonyms

overwork

Translations (10)

es desperdiciar (To use too much of) · fi käyttää liikaa (To use too much of) · es sobreutilizar (To use too much of) · fr galvauder (To use too much of) · ru злоупотребля́ть (To use too much of) · fr surutiliser (To use too much of) · io trouzar (To use too much of) · es usar con exceso (To use too much of) · eo trouzi (To use too much of) · es trillar (To use too much of)