overclassify

verb

over·​clas·​si·​fy ˌō-vər-ˈkla-sə-ˌfī 

overclassified; overclassifying

: to classify (something or someone) to an excessive degree: such as

a

transitive : to divide (someone or something) into too many or unnecessary classes (see class entry 1 sense 3)

The model we describe is intended to work with the differences people bring to the therapy situation, without overclassifying them based on any particular characteristics.

—Charlie Johnson and Denise Webster

also : to include too many or too much of (someone or something) in a class

… has long argued, however, that this cutoff overclassifies children and artificially inflates diagnostic rates.

—George Kapalka

b

transitive + intransitive : to make (something, such as information or documents) classified (see classified entry 1 sense 2) unnecessarily

The intelligence community too often overclassifies information that many of us believe should readily be available …

—Pete Hoekstra

We're overclassifying. We're keeping too much out of the public domain.

—Robert Baer

overclassification

ˌō-vər-ˌkla-sə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

plural overclassifications

overclassification of students

overclassification of government data

Examples of overclassify in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There are millions of clearance holders in the federal bureaucracy, and the default desire to overclassify documents out of excessive abundances of caution means that there is simply too much classified paperwork floating around to properly manage. —Bradley P. Moss, CNN, 11 Jan. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above