overzealous

adjective

over·​zeal·​ous ˌō-vər-ˈze-ləs 

: too zealous : having or showing too much zeal : excessively eager, enthusiastic, or fervent

overzealous parents

overzealous workers

… another version of the overzealous monitoring that has produced kids who leave for college without ever having crossed the street by themselves.

—Peggy Orenstein

The village saw the orders as unwarranted interference from an overzealous state bureaucracy and promptly appealed.

—Joe Treen and S. Avery Brown

overzealously adverb

… has been frequently accused by its critics of acting recklessly, overzealously, and even, at times, illegally.

—Steve Lustgarden

overzealousness noun

Jewell was annoyed that press descriptions of him always emphasized his "overzealousness"; he considers himself a man of details.

—Marie Brenner

Examples of overzealous in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, this access could be curtailed by a single piece of overzealous regulation. —Boaz Sobrado, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024

Just Burt, an overzealous passenger played by guest star Tom McGowan (Frasier). —Claire Franken, TVLine, 26 Sep. 2024

The emphasis on verifiability is, in part, a response to a recent spate of PR and legal headaches resulting from companies’ overzealous or unclear climate claims. —Trevor Laurence Jockims, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2024

Credit an overzealous network censor — who operates completely separate from the production team, and even the network’s specials execs. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 16 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above