overwrought
/əʊ.vəˈɹɔːt/adjective
overwrought is spelled O-V-E-R-W-R-O-U-G-H-T: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,808th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, overwrought means “Excessively nervous, excited, tense, angry, anxious, or upset; overemotional; very uneasy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overwrought?
| Letters | 11: O-V-E-R-W-R-O-U-G-H-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 54,808th 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 overwrought?
Overwrought appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,808th 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 overwrought?
- UK /əʊ.vəˈɹɔːt/
Overwrought 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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Qwertygiy-overwrought.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with overwrought?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overwrought from its last stressed vowel (/ɔt/, British pronunciation):
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 overwrought
- more overwrought comparative
- most overwrought superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overwrought mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Excessively nervous, excited, tense, angry, anxious, or upset; overemotional; very uneasy.
- 2
Elaborate; baroque; overdone.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overwrought in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | aufgeregt , überdreht |
| Portuguese | alterado |
| Spanish | nerviosisimo, sobrexitado, rabioso |
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 overwrought come from?
Past participle of overwork; equivalent to over- + wrought.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).