Overmuch
adj, adv, det, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An excessive amount; too much. uncountable
"They had felled too freely here; the sawmills had taken over-much, leaving next to no young wood."
- 2 a quantity that is more than what is appropriate wordnet
- 1 Excessive. not-comparable
"[…]it is good to be applyed to womens breaſts, that grow ſore by the aboundance of milke comming into them: as alſo to repreſſe the overmuch bleeding of the hemorrhoids, to coole the Inflammations of the parts thereabouts, and to give eaſe of paines:[…]."
- 1 very great in quantity; overabundant wordnet
- 1 Too much; overly much British, not-comparable
"Some readers do not care overmuch for poetry."
- 1 more than necessary wordnet
- 1 Very much; too much; overly much. British
"So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow."
Example
More examples"Overmuch is bitter, even of pure honey."
Etymology
From Middle English overmuche, overmuchel, from Old English ofermiċel, ofermyċel (“overmuch, excessive”), equivalent to over- + much. Compare overmany and overmore. Doublet of overmickle. Cognate with Scots over-mekill (“overmuch, excessive”), Old Norse ofrmikill (“overmuch, excessive”), Icelandic ofmikill (“overmuch, excessive”).
From Middle English overmuche, overmuchel, equivalent to over- + much.
From Middle English overmuche, overmuchel, from the adjective.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.