1.
[syn: overact, ham it up, ham, overplay]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Overact \O`ver*act"\, v. t.
1. To act or perform to excess; to exaggerate in acting; as,
he overacted his part.
[1913 Webster]
2. To act upon, or influence, unduly. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
The hope of inheritance overacts them. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Overact \O`ver*act"\, v. i.
To act more than is necessary; to go to excess in action.
--B. Jonson.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
overact
v 1: exaggerate one's acting [syn: overact, ham it up,
ham, overplay] [ant: underact, underplay]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
64 Moby Thesaurus words for "overact":
act a part, affect, assume, carry too far, counterfeit, declaim,
do a bit, dramatize, exaggerate, exhaust, fake, feign,
go overboard, go to extremes, go too far, grimace, ham, ham it up,
histrionize, know no bounds, make out like, mug, out-herod Herod,
overcarry, overdevelop, overdo, overdramatize, overdrive,
overelaborate, overemphasize, overexercise, overexert, overexpend,
overindulge, overlabor, overplay, overreact, overspend, overstrain,
overstress, overstudy, overtask, overtax, overtrain, overuse,
overwork, pass all bounds, play, play a part, play a scene,
playact, pretend, protest too much, put on, put on airs, rant,
roar, sham, simulate, spout, throw away, tug the heartstrings,
underact, wear