overprotect

verb

over·​pro·​tect ˌō-vər-prə-ˈtekt 

overprotected; overprotecting

transitive verb

: to protect (someone or something) more than is necessary or reasonable

Resist overprotecting your daughter because it sends the message that you think she can't handle the situation …

—Kathy Lynn

But this lawsuit questions whether the university had overprotected an athlete.

—Marcia Chambers

One never notices a dead flower, and other artists have said they feel the garden actually looks too fresh and overprotected.

—R. I. C. Fisher

overprotection

ˌō-vər-prə-ˈtek-shən 

noun

… millennials' perceived entitlement isn't a result of overprotection but an adaptation to a world of abundance.

—Joel Stein

overprotective

ˌō-vər-prə-ˈtek-tiv 

adjective

… she was constantly anxious and pathologically overprotective of her son; he had, literally, to escape the grounds of their estate and the watchfulness of a swarm of servants in order to play with another child.

—Anne Bernays

overprotectiveness noun

held back by the overprotectiveness of his parents

Examples of overprotect in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Other families overprotect a disabled child, and drive them through endless therapies and painful regimens in hopes of achieving some kind of cure. —Andrew Pulrang, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2023

Unfortunately, a lot of people will go to the opposite extreme and overprotect their hearing at safe levels. —Simon Hill, Wired, 1 Feb. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1885, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

overprotect

transitive verb

over·​pro·​tect -prə-ˈtekt 

: to protect unduly

overprotected children

overprotective

-ˈtek-tiv 

adjective