Overate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To rate or assess something higher than its actual value or quality
2. To give excessive praise or importance to someone or something beyond reason
3. To evaluate or judge excessively, often leading to inflated perceptions of worth or significance

Etymology: "Overate" is simply the past tense of "overeat," so its history belongs to that verb. "Overeat" is a plain compound: "over-" joined to "eat," with "over-" descending from the Old English "ofer," which carries the sense of excess or going beyond a limit. The same prefix appears in countless English verbs, such as "overdo" and "overspend," where it always means doing something past the proper measure. Here the combination is literal: to overeat is to eat more than the body needs or more than is good for it. The meaning has changed very little from its ingredients, which is why the word needs no special story. The verb "eat" itself is an ancient inherited word, and "over-" has been used as a productive prefix in English for over a thousand years.

Synonyms: overestimate, exaggerate, overvalue

Antonyms: underrate, underestimate