Overvaluations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of placing a value on something that exceeds its true worth
2. Overestimating the importance or price of an asset beyond its actual value
3. Assigning a value to an item or concept that is unjustifiably greater than its real or intrinsic value

Etymology: "Overvaluations" is simply the plural of "overvaluation," and the noun itself is a transparent formation: the prefix "over-" attached to "valuation," a noun for the act of assessing what something is worth. The prefix carries the sense of excess, so an overvaluation is an assessment that puts a value above what the thing is actually worth. "Over-" traces back to Old English "ofer," which shares ancestry with Germanic words meaning "above" or "beyond," and it has been productive in English for over a thousand years. Attaching it to a noun like "valuation" is an ordinary English pattern, which is why the word needs no special coinage to be understood.

Synonyms: exaggerations, inflations, overestimates, appraisals, valuations

Antonyms: undervaluations, devaluations, underestimates, diminutions, discounts