Overjudge

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Assessing someone or something more severely or critically than the facts warrant
2. Forming an opinion that is too harsh, drawing conclusions beyond what the evidence supports
3. Evaluating a person or matter with excessive severity, passing judgment that goes too far

Etymology: "Overjudge" is a plain formation: the prefix "over-", meaning excessively or beyond the proper measure, attached to "judge." Its literal sense is to judge too much, which is to say to pass judgment beyond what the matter warrants. The prefix does the same work in many English verbs, such as "overestimate," "overcook," and "overreact," so the new word follows a familiar pattern rather than introducing anything unusual. The base verb "judge" comes ultimately from Latin "iudicare," meaning to pronounce judgment, built from "ius" (law) and "dicere" (to say). Adding "over-" simply intensifies that act into one of excess, so a reader can parse the word from its two parts without needing a dictionary.

Synonyms: overestimate, overrate

Antonyms: underestimate, underrate