overwrought
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Past participle of overwork; equivalent to over- + wrought.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əʊ.vəˈɹɔːt/
Audio (US): (file) - Homophone: overraught
Verb
[edit]overwrought
- (archaic) simple past and past participle of overwork
Adjective
[edit]overwrought (comparative more overwrought, superlative most overwrought)
- Excessively nervous, excited, tense, angry, anxious, or upset; overemotional; very uneasy.
- Elaborate; baroque; overdone.
- 2025 December 17, Jennifer Szalai, “The Intellectuals Fueling the MAGA Movement”, in The New York Times Book Review[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 December 2025:
- Her book includes an incisive discussion of misogyny on the New Right. [Laura K.] Field notes how “gynocracy” and “the longhouse” have become overwrought MAGA epithets for an unbearably feminized and pluralist society.
Synonyms
[edit]- (emotional): distraught, overwhelmed, distressed, agitated, strung, wrought-up
- (elaborate): ornate, overdecorated
Antonyms
[edit]- (antonym(s) of “emotional”): calm, collected, composed, laid-back, placid, serene, tranquil, untroubled
- (antonym(s) of “elaborate”): austere, bare, conservative, denuded, modest, naked, plain, simple, stark, stripped, uncovered, restrained, subdued, toned-down, unadorned
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]in a state of excessive nervousness, excitement, or anger
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