How to Use overplay in a Sentence

overplay

verb
  • He overplayed the death scene.
  • The network news overplayed the story just to get good ratings.
  • Metaphors abound, but Biancheri doesn’t overplay her hand on that front.
    Bill Goodykoontz, Detroit Free Press, 3 Dec. 2021
  • At the very least, Senate Democrats overplayed their hand.
    Peggy Noonan, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2018
  • Grace had overplayed her hand in having him sacked, and the army rolled into Harare.
    The Economist, 12 Sep. 2019
  • The pedigree part of this plan has already been overplayed.
    Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 12 Jan. 2020
  • Wright overplays the run, safety Hill drifted too far right and can’t catch up and just like that, the game is tied.
    oregonlive, 22 Dec. 2019
  • But there’s lots of businesses for which that kind of risk is overplayed.
    Sarah Todd, Quartz at Work, 12 July 2019
  • Churchill also seemed to think that the telegrams overplayed the duke’s involvement with the Nazis.
    Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 21 July 2017
  • But not all is lost, because Rapchinksi has overplayed his hand.
    Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 15 May 2023
  • Matthew Lillard overplays his smaller role and in the process spoils what was meant to be a major twist.
    Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 26 Oct. 2023
  • Casey instructed the team to overplay the 3-point line; let the Hornets have two points, but don’t give up a 3-pointer.
    Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press, 17 Nov. 2019
  • On the other hand, Democrats are in danger of overplaying their hand.
    William A. Galston, WSJ, 10 July 2018
  • In business as well as in fashion, Kendall has overplayed his hand.
    Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2019
  • Also, there is a chance that Democrats may overplay their hand on Kavanaugh.
    Chad Pergram, Fox News, 25 Sep. 2018
  • Sproles was so good at running that Texas route, that teams would start to overplay that, and so what did Norv do?
    Jourdan Rodrigue, charlotteobserver, 19 Jan. 2018
  • The companies overplayed the drug’s safety from the outset, Oldani says.
    Popular Science, 10 Mar. 2020
  • But, the cynic in me can’t help but note that the Iran connection was overplayed last winter.
    Noah Shachtman, WIRED, 3 Jan. 2008
  • The biggest issue, though, is that too much of the performance is overplayed.
    Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 24 July 2019
  • In this show, some of them work well — there is a lot of talent in the very ample ensemble — but a few feel overplayed.
    Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 31 Jan. 2018
  • Something tells me that this is a classic case of overplaying one’s hand.
    Stephen A. Crockett Jr., The Root, 12 Feb. 2018
  • In this snappy jousting of words and egos, everyone in the cast has a license to overplay.
    David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2023
  • One persistent worry on Wall Street is that the Fed will overplay its hand.
    Martha C. White, wsj.com, 16 Oct. 2023
  • Most of those 2s are on rim attacks as defenses overplay to limit the long ball.
    J. Michael, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Mar. 2021
  • Romero has overplayed his hand, but Usher isn't going to do anything about it yet.
    Ethan Renner, baltimoresun.com, 2 June 2017
  • With a safety’s support allowing him to overplay the out route, the corner made a terrific play to snag the ball near the line.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2019
  • The party overplayed its hand by trying to pin the blame on Kurz, then joined forces with the arch-rival Freedom Party to bring him down.
    Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2019
  • Steffen, to his credit, didn't overplay the collapse theme.
    Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 29 Jan. 2013
  • There was never under-playing it or overplaying it with Sutherland: There was just what made sense for the character and the story.
    Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 20 June 2024
  • When the characters are more mature and confident in the show’s abruptly different second half, that shift in attitude is lost because of how overplayed the first half was.
    Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 12 Apr. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overplay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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