Overjudged

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Assessed with excessive severity or given too high a rating by someone who weighed it more heavily than it deserved
2. Having been evaluated too harshly or too favorably, with a verdict that overstated its worth or faults
3. Considered beyond what the facts warranted, so that the appraisal was pushed past a fair measure

Etymology: "Overjudged" is the past tense and past participle of "overjudge," which is formed from the prefix "over-" attached to "judge." The prefix carries its familiar sense of excess, so to overjudge something is to judge it too harshly, too highly, or beyond what the evidence supports. The base word "judge" traces back through Old French "jugier" to Latin "iudicare," meaning to pronounce judgment, and "over-" is an ancient English prefix with the same sense of "above" or "too much" found in words like "overeat" and "overpay." Because "overjudge" is a transparent combination of these two parts, its meaning can be worked out from its pieces without any special history behind it.

Synonyms: overrate, overvalue, overestimate

Antonyms: underestimate, underrate, undervalue