Overcontrol

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Excessive control. uncountable

    "After a stressful event, the histrionic patient often manifests swings from rigid overcontrol to uncontrolled intrusions and emotional repetition."

Verb
  1. 1
    To control to too great a degree. transitive

    "She’s not fancy or overcontrolled: she sounds relaxed but alert, and a slight nasal flatness in her voice humanizes her, makes her touch the ground."

Example

More examples

"She’s not fancy or overcontrolled: she sounds relaxed but alert, and a slight nasal flatness in her voice humanizes her, makes her touch the ground."

Etymology

From over- + control.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.