Overadminister

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To provide an excessive amount of a medication or treatment beyond what is necessary
2. To administer a therapeutic agent or intervention in greater doses or frequency than medically recommended
3. To supply or apply a medical remedy or dose in surplus, surpassing the standard or prescribed amount

Etymology: "Overadminister" is a transparent formation: the prefix "over-", meaning "to excess" or "too much," attached to "administer." The sense of "administer" that matters here is its medical one, to give a drug or dose to someone, which it has carried in English since the late Middle Ages, drawn from Latin "administrare," to manage or give service to. Combined with "over-," the verb means to give a medicine or dose in greater quantity than is safe or appropriate. The pattern is productive. English has long been comfortable stacking "over-" onto verbs of giving or applying, so "overdose," "overprescribe," and "overmedicate" follow the same logic. Because the word is built from two familiar parts, its meaning can be read directly from them, with nothing hidden in its history.

Synonyms: overmanage, oversee, micromanage

Antonyms: underadminister, neglect, ignore