overelaborate

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adjective

over·​elab·​o·​rate ˌō-vər-i-ˈla-b(ə-)rət 

: excessively elaborate

an overelaborate plot/plan

an overelaborate dinner presentation

… creating an overelaborate design at the expense of clarity and readability …

—David Baldwin

… overelaborate and pointless accounts of petty troubles …

—Genevieve Stuttaford et al.

overelaborate

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verb

over·​elab·​o·​rate ˌō-vər-i-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt 

overelaborated; overelaborating

transitive + intransitive

: to elaborate (something) too much : to do or provide (something) with too much detail, complexity, or ornateness

overelaborating [=belaboring] an obvious point

… his motivations are overelaborated through too many back stories …

—Nathaniel Rich

… wasted a host of presentable chances in the second half as they often overelaborated on their way to goal …

—James Benge

She also knows the art of simplifying … rather than creating an overelaborated mishmash of textures and hues.

—Steve Whysall

overelaboration

ˌō-vər-i-ˌla-bə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

plural overelaborations

Overelaboration should be avoided in constructing graphs. The substance of the graph should be the centre of attraction, not the design graphic …

—J. A. John et al.

Examples of overelaborate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The overelaborate surfaces seem to evoke globalization as a simple excess. —Jason Farago, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1879, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1899, in the meaning defined above