overregulate

verb

over·​reg·​u·​late ˌō-vər-ˈre-gyə-ˌlāt 

 also  -ˈrā-

overregulated; overregulating

transitive + intransitive

: to regulate (something) to an excessive degree

Hospitals bitterly oppose the passage of such laws, saying they oversimplify complex issues and overregulate an already struggling industry.

—Tessa DeCarlo

This tendency to overregulate, which results from political pressures …

—Clark C. Havighurst

overregulation

ˌō-vər-ˌre-gyə-ˈlā-shən 

-ˌre-gə-

 also  -ˌrā-

noun

… risked hurting the economy through overregulation.

—Richard Brookhiser

Examples of overregulate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Washington Times later reports that Schneider also takes issue with his home state overregulating his vitamin business. —Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2023

China’s government considers biopharmaceuticals an important economic driver and has no incentive to overregulate the sector, the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking said in February. —Brian Spegele, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above