overcolourovercolorv.
/ˌəʊvəˈkʌlə/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈkələr/ transitive. To colour excessively; (chiefly in extended use) to represent too strongly or in an exaggerated way.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > exaggeration, hyperbole > exaggerate [verb (transitive)] > in representation
paintc1390
fucate1535
flatter1581
embroider1614
over-picturea1616
heighten1731
overpaint1749
overtell1755
overcolour1811
overdrawa1817
dramatize1823
sensationalize1863
overdress1866
1811 S. T. Coleridge in Courier 19 Apr. 2/3 One critic objects to a long admired picture, that is under-coloured, and another that it is over-coloured.
1824 W. Scott Romance in Encycl. Brit.: Suppl. 4th–6th Eds. VI. ii. 443/1 To overcolour the importance and respectability of the minstrel tribe.
1858 J. B. Norton Topics for Indian Statesmen 16 He has no motive for over~colouring or distorting facts.
1859 Atlantic Monthly Oct. 501 If you think I overcolor this matter of the young girl's book, hear this.
1905 Amer. Hist. Rev. 11 184 To withstand always the historian's constant temptation to overstate and overcolor..this is, clearly, his resolve.
1979 Econ. Jrnl. 89 154 The sheer volume of the materials in the Morgenthau Diaries..may have over-coloured his story of the details of Bretton Woods.
2001 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 1 July 60 It's difficult to know exactly what the models get from having their hair overcoloured and fiddled with for hours on end.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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