overly
adverb
overly is spelled O-V-E-R-L-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, overly means “To an excessive degree” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overly?
| Letters | 6: O-V-E-R-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.8 times per million words; the 9,165th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is overly?
Overly appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce overly?
Overly has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of overly
- more overly comparative
- most overly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
proscribedTo an excessive degree.
Parents can be overly protective of their children.
- 2
To a high degree; very.
I'm not overly enthusiastic about meeting him.
- 3
obsoleteSuperficially.
- 4
obsoleteCarelessly, without due attention.
- 5
obsoleteWith a sense of superiority, haughtily.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteSuperficial; not thorough; careless, negligent, inattentive.
- 2
obsoleteHaving a sense of superiority, haughty.
- 3
obsoleteExcessive; too great.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to an excessive degree:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | trop |
| German | allzu, übermäßig |
| Portuguese | demais, excessivamente, exageradamente |
| Spanish | demasiadamente, excesivamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does overly come from?
From over + -ly (adverbial suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).