overtuned

English

Etymology 1

From over- +‎ tuned.

Adjective

overtuned (comparative more overtuned, superlative most overtuned)

1. Tuned or adjusted so as to be excessive (in terms of some quality), especially:
   • 2007, Scott Rosenberg, quoting Joel Spolsky, Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software, New York, N.Y.: Crown Publishers, →ISBN, page 258:

     The process is overtuned. . . . Now it's gotten to the point where it takes sixteen months to get out any release of any Microsoft product. They really can't steer that ship very fast.

   • 2016, W[illiam] B. Belcher, Lay Down Your Weary Tune, New York, N.Y.: Other Press, →ISBN, page 295:

     "What are you talking about?" My voice was higher than usual, overtuned. I couldn't move. "What are you saying?"

   • 2022 June 13, Morgan Park, “Yes, Sonic Frontiers is as bad as it looks, but I want more”, in PC Gamer‎^[1], archived from the original on 2023-07-04:

     Senior editor Wes Fenlon theorized overtuned motion blur could be an attempt to cover up an inconsistent framerate, but Frontiers ran pretty smoothly to my eye, so the blur either did its job or looked that way for stylistic reasons.

   1. Of a string or string instrument: tuned so as to be excessively tight.
      • 1979, Dudley Pope, Convoy, New York, N.Y.: Walker and Company, published 1987, →ISBN, page 231:

        It was not until he was lying in the hospital bed at St Stephen's with his hand and arm fished like a broken spar that he realized his nerves were wound up tauter than an overtuned violin: another fraction of a turn, it seemed, and something would snap.

      • 2006, Stephen King, Cell: A Novel, New York, N.Y. […]: Scribner, →ISBN, page 110:

        Patiently — as patiently as he could with nerves that felt like overtuned guitar-strings — Clay said, "There's nothing wrong with it, honey. I just want to get rolling. I don't think we're going to see anyone, anyway. I think it's too soon."

      • 2013 June 25, Chris Kluwe, “A Bit of Strained Groin and a Dash of Trick Knee”, in Slate‎^[2], archived from the original on 2019-04-14:

        A surge of tight restriction emanates from the locale as tense muscles quiver like overtuned violin strings, and the feeling of shifting the kneecap back in place is very similar to cracking a knuckle (and in fact can produce an audible pop, adding a delightful aural component to the mix).

      • 2018 October 21, Euan Ferguson, “The week in TV: Butterfly, There She Goes, Child of Mine, Informer”, in The Observer‎^[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-18:

        He takes it out on her favourite toy, a hippo, and, my, there's anger there, the beseeching "be normal" anger of a parent of course but, given Rosie's problems, it's like watching an overtuned Stradivarius, one ratchet suddenly turned too tight, and everything will collapse in a welter of discord and broken spruce.

   2. Of an engine: tuned so as to be more powerful than intended by the manufacturer.
      • 1993, Ben Elton, This Other Eden, New York, N.Y. […]: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 160:

        There was the high-pitched rev of an overtuned engine, and Rosalie roared out of the shed and headed for the gully of the little stream by the dry-stone wall.

      • 2004, Chuck Hogan, Prince of Thieves: A Novel, New York, N.Y. […]: Scribner, →ISBN, page 264:

        Then he heard the familiar revving of the overtuned engine and went to the center window. The Flamer was pulling up curbside on the street below Doug was downstairs and outside in a flash.

      • 2020 April 16, Stephen Williams, “The Soundtrack to an Electric Car”, in The New York Times‎^[4], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-24:

        So don't expect to hear the growl of an overtuned V-8, the bark of an amplified exhaust, the screech of tires digging for grip. Mr. Zimmer wants to take you to a different place.

   3. Of a sense or mode of perception: trained so as to be excessively sensitive.
      • 2004, Barbara Seranella, Unwilling Accomplice: A Munch Mancini Crime Novel, New York, N.Y. […]: Scribner, →ISBN, page 279:

        Had she just caught a reflection from somewhere else? A night bird? Or were her overtuned and hypervigilant senses playing games with her mind?

      • 2004, James Fergusson, Kandahar Cockney: A Tale of Two Worlds, London […]: Harper Perennial, →ISBN, page 67:

        Freud, according to a poster I once owned, reckoned that the average redblooded male thinks about sex every three minutes, but in Afghanistan I hardly thought about it at all. This realisation had only dawned on me when I left the country. My first contact with non-Muslims had been in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, where, according to my overtuned antennae, the streets seemed weirdly crammed with blondes in miniskirts.

      • 2016, Tyler Henry, Between Two Worlds: Lessons From the Other Side, New York, N.Y. […]: Gallery Books, →ISBN, page 175:

        Many young mediums struggle with anxiety, as a result of their overtuned senses and the pain that comes with feeling dismissed or alienated.

   4. (video games) Of a character, item, ability, etc.: excessively powerful; overpowered.
      • 2019 July 17, Cass Marshall, quoting Matt Jackson, “Deathgarden: Bloodharvest is evolving again, with a new game mode and more”, in Polygon‎^[5], archived from the original on 2023-06-01:

        I think honestly some of the abilities we gave Dash may have been slightly overtuned.

      • 2020 June 4, “’Hearthstone’ updates used to take ages. Times have changed.”, in The Washington Post‎^[6], Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 November 2021:

        The Hearthstone developers wanted to capture that fantasy within the context of a head-to-head CCG, and the results were outstandingly overtuned. In the hours after Ashes of Outland dropped, Demon Hunter was the only class in the game with a positive win rate.

      • 2020 August 2, Patricio Kobek, “Why VALORANT's Killjoy Won't Be Overpowered, According To The Devs”, in TheGamer‎^[7], archived from the original on 2023-10-08:

        As mentioned, Killjoy will probably feel excessively overtuned at the lowest ranks of competitive play thanks to the lack of environmental awareness seen in beginner players.

      • 2022 December 8, Carver Fisher, “Overwatch 2 players claim Doomfist was "overbuffed" for Season 2”, in Dexerto‎^[8], archived from the original on 2023-06-04:

        In a thread that's gained some traction on the Overwatch subreddit, an inquiry about how players feel a short time after the Doomfist changes went live has revealed that players think this hero is a bit overtuned.

   5. (video games) Of a raid or similar challenge: excessively difficult.
      • 2018 September 19, Ryan Gilliam, “Only 12 players beat Destiny's new raid in the first 24 hours — and that's awesome”, in Polygon‎^[9], archived from the original on 2022-12-06:

        For a while, there was a concern that nobody could beat Riven, that Last Wish was simply too overtuned for day-one raiders. But then the first crew beat the boss around power level 550, and it became clear that Bungie had done something amazing.

      • 2021 June 25, Sarah James, “World of Warcraft's upcoming power system risks trivialising the work put into legendary gear”, in PC Gamer‎^[10], archived from the original on 2022-12-01:

        When Shadowlands launched back in November, the challenges of an initially overtuned Castle Nathria raid, seemingly endless Torghast runs, and the introduction of the Covenant system were enough to keep us all busy.

      • 2023 July 22, Wes Davis, quoting Joe Piepiora, “Blizzard devs know their Diablo IV patch was bad”, in The Verge‎^[11], archived from the original on 2023-08-16:

        In the short term, there is at least one quick fix coming to rebalance things after the 1.1.0 patch. Piepiora said the team felt that nightmare dungeons in the game are "dramatically overtuned" and that tier 100 nightmare dungeons are "excruciatingly difficult" for most classes, resulting in players pursuing very specific builds.

2. (by extension) Excessive in some respect (without any implication of having been "tuned").
   • 1998, Harlan Coben, One False Move (Myron Bolitar), New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, →ISBN, page 55:

     There was a baby photo, those school portraits with the rainbow background, a big Afro playing basketball, a tuxedo-and-date prom, a couple of graduations, blah, blah, blah. Corny, yes, but these photo montages always touched Myron, exploiting his overtuned sensitivity like a sappy Hallmark commercial.

   • 2006 February 12, Philip French, “You’ve got my numbers”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎^[12], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-06-19:

     We also accept what we are told in the same breath, that he was certifiably insane. Because according to the received wisdom of popular culture, this is the inevitable consequence of having a precociously overtuned mind.

   • 2021 February 27, Luke Winkie, “How Blizzard Transforms Its Fans Into Employees”, in Wired‎^[13], San Francisco, C.A.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-04-04:

     The dusty tomes of the Warcraft legendarium imply that C'Thun is one of the most powerful beings in the universe; he commands an army of obsidian golems and routinely devours raid members whole with one of his many toothy maws. Still, the amount of damage he was soaking up seemed a bit overtuned.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

overtuned

1. simple past and past participle of overtune

Anagrams

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