Overedit

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To revise and alter a piece of writing, film, or other work more than is necessary or beneficial
2. To make excessive changes to a text or creative work, potentially damaging its original quality or intent
3. To subject something to more editing than is needed, resulting in over-refinement or loss of natural character

Etymology: "Overedit" is a plain formation: the prefix "over-", meaning "excessively" or "too much," attached to "edit." The prefix is English and has been productive for centuries, so the word needs no special story beyond its parts. "Edit" itself comes from Latin "editus," the past participle of "edere," meaning "to put forth" or "to bring out," which is also the root of "edition." The sense of revising or correcting a text came later, as publishing and preparing manuscripts for print became their own trade. Combining the two gives a word meaning to edit too much, to alter or polish something past the point of improvement. It is most often applied to films, recordings, and writing, where cutting or refining can strip out the qualities that made the original work.

Synonyms: over-revise, over-correct

Antonyms: underedit