Meaning & use
overexcited
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
So full of excitement that you cannot stay calm, behave sensibly or settle down.
Grammar: Can follow be or get, or sit before a noun: the kids got overexcited, an overexcited puppy.
Patterns
- be overexcited about something
- get overexcited
The children were overexcited on the morning of the school trip.
Don't get overexcited, because we haven't won yet.
The overexcited puppy knocked over a lamp.
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Being more positive or hopeful about something than the facts justify.
Grammar: Often used with about or by: overexcited about the news.
Patterns
- overexcited about something
- overexcited by something
Investors became overexcited about the new technology.
I do not want to sound overexcited, but this looks promising.
Fans were overexcited by one good result.
Word forms
| comparative | more overexcited |
|---|---|
| superlative | most overexcited |
Common combinations
- get overexcited
- The dog gets overexcited whenever the doorbell rings.
- become overexcited
- The audience became overexcited as the band walked on.
- overexcited children
- Overexcited children are hard to put to bed.
- slightly overexcited
- She was slightly overexcited after winning the prize.
- overexcited about
- Everyone was overexcited about the holiday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overwrought
- Overwrought suggests being upset or stressed to the point of tears, while overexcited is more about too much happy energy.
- hyper
- Hyper is informal and often describes energetic behavior, whereas overexcited is a neutral, more standard word.
- worked up
- Worked up is an informal phrase that can mean angry or anxious, but overexcited usually involves enthusiasm.
- giddy
- Giddy suggests a light, silly happiness, while overexcited points more to lost self-control.
Opposites
Word family
- excite verb
- to make someone feel enthusiastic or eager
- excitement noun
- a feeling of eager enthusiasm
- exciting adjective
- causing eager enthusiasm
- overexcite verb
- to excite too much
- overexcitement noun
- too much excitement
Commonly confused: overexcited or overexciting?
overexcited vs overexciting
Overexciting describes the thing that causes excitement, while overexcited describes the person or animal who feels it.
Practice
The toddlers were so ___ at the party that none of them would sit down to eat.
Choose one answer.
Overexcited is the adjective describing how the toddlers felt. Overexciting would describe what causes the feeling, not the feeling itself.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overexcited”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.