Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

overprosecute

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: over-pros-e-cute
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To prosecute (a crime or community) excessively.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"The emphasis on prosecution and conviction as metrics of success leads police and prosecutors to overarrest, overprosecute, and overpunish low-level drug and other crimes in many cases."
"Criminal justice reform has become a national topic of discussion given recent police killings of Black men, and Jones points out that he's been a longtime activist on this issue, with his experience in Palo Alto and as an NAACP youth organizer. Also, he notes, as a Black man, "People like me are overpoliced, overarrested, overprosecuted.""

Etymology

From over- + prosecute.

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

overprosecutes (present, singular) overprosecuting (participle, present) overprosecuted (participle, past) overprosecuted (past)

Questions

What does overprosecute mean?: To prosecute (a crime or community) excessively.
Where does overprosecute come from?: From over- + prosecute.

How to pronounce overprosecute

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