Overspecify

//ˌoʊvɚˈspɛsɪˌfaɪ// verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1
To specify in excessive detail.
"The customer overspecified the requirements and now we're contractually required to build it this way. Does he think he's an engineer?"
2
To specify excessive capability.
"As usual the customer overspecified the requirements, it's like asking for a car that seats 20 and fits in a compact car's parking space."
3
To provide redundant or inconsistent information.
"An overspecified truth table contains at least one decision that will never be executed because it is already specified in a previous decision..."

Antonyms

Example

"The customer overspecified the requirements and now we're contractually required to build it this way. Does he think he's an engineer?"

Etymology

From over- + specify.

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