Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

overprotective

/ˌoʊvɚpɹəˈtɛktɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.66 in modern English

Syllables: over-pro-tec-tive
IPA: /ˌoʊvɚpɹəˈtɛktɪv/

24

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

5

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Excessively protective, wanting to give too much protection (especially to children).

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- English over- Medieval Latin prōtēctīvusbor. English protective English overprotective From over- + protective.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌoʊvɚpɹəˈtɛktɪv/
British English: /ˌəʊvəpɹəˈtɛktɪv/

Derived Forms

overprotectively overprotectiveness overprotectivism overprotectivity

Phrases

mama bear

Frequently Paired Words

mama bear

Antonyms

underprotective

Rhymes With

effective objective collective detective respective protective selective prospective subjective directive ineffective reflective

Questions

How do you pronounce overprotective?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌoʊvɚpɹəˈtɛktɪv/.
What does overprotective mean?: Excessively protective, wanting to give too much protection (especially to children).
Where does overprotective come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- English over- Medieval Latin prōtēctīvusbor. English protective English overprotective From over- + protective.

How to pronounce overprotective

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “overprotective”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌoʊvɚpɹəˈtɛktɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “overprotective”.
Repeat and practice — Say “overprotective” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.