overillustrate means to illustrate excessively. It carries an Arena rating of 1395, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, overillustrate ranks #7,798 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #9,133 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #9,160 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #11,956 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “overillustrate” is a great word
To depict or explain with such profusion of examples, diagrams, or visual aids that clarity collapses beneath the weight of its own elaboration, from the English prefix over- (meaning "excessively") + illustrate (from Latin illustratus, past participle of illustrare, meaning "to light up, make clear"). Unlike "elucidate," which seeks the precise threshold of understanding and stops there, or "embellish," which ornaments for beauty's sake, overillustrate is a misguided act of generosity—the explainer so anxious to be understood that they smother comprehension. It is the professor projecting twelve successive slides for a single point, each more crowded than the last; the manual that diagrams every screw, then diagrams the diagram; the parent who, asked for the time, explains the history of horology. There is something touching in the impulse, and something fatal: the belief that more light must always mean more sight.
Etymology
From over- + illustrate.
verb
- To illustrate excessively.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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