overreact
/ˌoʊ.vəɹ.ɹiˈækt/verb
overreact is spelled O-V-E-R-R-E-A-C-T: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, overreact means “To react too much or too intensely” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overreact?
| Letters | 9: O-V-E-R-R-E-A-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,176th 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 overreact?
Overreact appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th 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 overreact?
- US /ˌoʊ.vəɹ.ɹiˈækt/
- UK /ˌəʊvəɹiˈækt/
Overreact has 4 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). Recordings: En-us-overreact.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with overreact?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overreact from its last stressed vowel (/ækt/):
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).
Forms of overreact
- overreacts present, singular, he/she/it
- overreacting participle, present
- overreacted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overreact mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To react too much or too intensely.
Please try not to overreact if she drives badly when she is first learning.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overreact in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense react too much or too intensely:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | s'emporter, surréagir, exagérer |
| German | überreagieren |
| Portuguese | reagir demais |
| Spanish | sobrerreaccionar, reaccionar exageradamente / hiperbólicamente |
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 overreact come from?
From over- + react.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).