overprotective
/ˌoʊvɚpɹəˈtɛktɪv/adjective
overprotective is spelled O-V-E-R-P-R-O-T-E-C-T-I-V-E: 14 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, overprotective means “Excessively protective, wanting to give too much protection (especially to children)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overprotective?
| Letters | 14: O-V-E-R-P-R-O-T-E-C-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is overprotective?
Overprotective appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd 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 overprotective?
- US /ˌoʊvɚpɹəˈtɛktɪv/
- UK /ˌəʊvəpɹəˈtɛktɪv/
Overprotective has 5 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).
What rhymes with overprotective?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overprotective from its last stressed vowel (/ɛktɪv/):
- perspective
- objective
- respective
- protective
- directive
- retrospective
- corrective
- introspective
- imperfective
- surjective
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does overprotective mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Excessively protective, wanting to give too much protection (especially to children).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overprotective in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense excessively protective:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | surprotecteur |
| German | überfürsorglich |
| Portuguese | superprotetor |
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 overprotective come from?
From over- + protective.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).