Not to be confused withovertly.

Fromover +‎-ly(adverbial suffix).

overly (notcomparable)

1. (sometimesproscribed) To anexcessivedegree.

   Synonyms:too,excessively,superfluously

   Parents can beoverly protective of their children.

   • 1821,John Galt, chapter 37, inAnnals of the Parish‎^[1], Philadelphia: M. Carey & Sons, page214:

     […] considering the circumstances of my situation, I saw it would not do for me to look out for anoverly young woman, nor yet would it do for one of my ways to take an elderly maiden, ladies of that sort being liable to possess strong-set particularities.

   • 1908,Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 30, inAnne of Green Gables‎^[2]:

     It’s nothing short of wonderful how she’s improved these three years, but especially in looks. She’s a real pretty girl got to be, though I can’t say I’moverly partial to that pale, big-eyed style myself.

   • 1958,Robert Heinlein, chapter 11, inHave Space Suit—Will Travel‎^[3], New York: Del Rey, page238:

     Your race isoverly sentimental; it distorts your judgment.

   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster,The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.:Field Museum of Natural History,→ISBN, page viii:

     This means, at times, long and perhapsoverly discursive discussions of other taxa.

   • 2013 May 10, James Ball, “US government attempts to stifle 3D-printer gun designs will ultimately fail”, inThe Guardian‎^[4]:

     And this is where the larger problem lies: when states try to enforce impossible bans, everyone loses. 3D printing farragoes have all the hallmarks of the absolute worst kind of ineffectual ban: one which encouragesoverly draconian laws that carry huge side effects, and that ultimately to have little to no effect.

2. (usually negative) To a high degree;very.

   I'm notoverly enthusiastic about meeting him.

3. (obsolete)Superficially.
   • 1566,Thomas Blundeville,The Fower Chiefyst Offices Belongyng to Horsemanshippe, London, “The true Arte of Paring, and shooyng all maner of Houes together[…],” Chapter 5,^[5]

     […] let him not touche the quarters nor the heeles at al, vnlesse it be to make the seat of the shoe playne, & let that be done so superficially orouerly as maye be, so shall the houes remayne alwayes strong.

   • 1604,William Perkins, chapter 6, inA Commentarie or Exposition, vpon the Fiue First Chapters of theEpistle to the Galatians‎^[6], Cambridge, page482:

     These kinds of reproofes, not vnfitly may be compared to hotte or hastie healing salues, which drawe a faire skinne ouer a fowle wound; which because it is not soundly cured from the bottome, butouerly healed vp, doth afterward apostemate or fistulate, and becommeth more dangerous and desperate then euer before.

   • 1678,George Mackenzie,The Laws and Customes of Scotland, in Matters Criminal, Edinburgh, Part 1, “Some Crimes punished amongst theRomans, which are not directly in use with us,” p. 347,^[7]

     […] I resolved here to touchoverly even those crimes which are little considered among us, not only that we might thereby know thegenius of that wise Nation; but that we may consider how far it were fit to renew amongst us these excellent Laws.

4. (obsolete)Carelessly, without dueattention.
   • 1629,John Preston,The New Covenant, or the Saints Portion‎^[8], London: Nicolas Bourne,Sermon 9, p. 51:

     […] you shall finde this, that all remissenesse, when a man doth a thing remissely, andouerly, and perfunctorily, it argues alway a diuided intention, it is an argument that the whole minde is not set on it, but that the intention is distracted, and bestowed on other things:

   • 1728,Daniel Defoe,A Plan of the English Commerce‎^[9], London: Charles Rivington, page60:

     If you expect the Poor should work cheaper, and not perform their Work slighter and moreoverly, as we call it, and superficially, you expect what is not in the Nature of the Thing.

5. (obsolete) With a sense ofsuperiority,haughtily.
   • 1650,John Brinsley the younger,An Antidote against the Poysonous Weeds of Heretical Blasphemies‎^[10], London: Ralph Smith, page 3:

     The third [vice] isArrogancie, and the fourthPride, two vices neer a kinne,Cosen germans[…] when men shall arrogate much unto themselves; lookingoverly and superciliously upon others.

The word is sometimes deemed erroneous. The American source M-W's Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, 1989, eventually settles on accepting it, but has this to say: "Bache 1869 and Ayres 1881 succinctly insulted contemporaries who used this word, calling them vulgar and unschooled. Times have changed: modern critics merely insult the word itself. Follett 1966, for example, claims that overly is useless, superfluous, and unharmonious, and should be replaced by the prefix over-. Bryson 1984 adds that 'when this becomes overinelegant ... the alternative is to find another adverb [...]'." The prefix over- is safer, and accepted by all: "He seemed over-anxious." M-W, AHD4, and RH include the word without comment, and OED notes only "After the Old English period, rare (outside Scotland and North America) until the 20th cent." In most cases "too" or "excessively" would be better choices than "over-".

Fromover +‎-ly(adjectival suffix).

overly (comparativemoreoverly,superlativemostoverly)

1. (obsolete) Superficial; not thorough; careless, negligent, inattentive.
   • 1602,Joseph Hall,Virgidemiarium Sixe Bookes‎^[11], London: Robert Dexter, Satire 3, page52:

     The curteous Citizen bad me to his feast,
     With hollow words, andouerly request:
     Come, will ye dine with me this Holy day?
     I yeelded, tho he hop’d I would sayNay:

   • 1627,Robert Sanderson,Ten Sermons‎^[12], London: R. Dawlman,Sermon 3, p. 120:

     Hee prayeth but with anouerly desire, and not from thedeepe of his heart, that will not bend hisendeauours withall to obtaine what he desireth:

   • 1762,Henry Home, Lord Kames,Elements of Criticism‎^[13], Edinburgh: A. Kincaid & J. Bell, Volume 1, Chapter 2, Part 7, p. 222:

     Concerning the passions in particular, however irregular, headstrong, and perverse, in anoverly view, they may appear, I propose to show, that they are by nature adjusted and tempered with admirable wisdom, for the good of society as well as for private good.

2. (obsolete) Having a sense ofsuperiority,haughty.
   • 1637,Joseph Hall,The Remedy of Prophanenesse‎^[14], London: Nathanael Butter, Book 1, Section 8, p. 66:

     Those that know no better, may rejoyce and exult in these worldly contentments; but those, who have had but a blink of the beauty of heaven, can look upon them no otherwise, than with anoverly contemptuousnesse.

3. (obsolete) Excessive; too great.
   • 1839,Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Notes on Baxter’s Life of Himself”, in Henry Nelson Coleridge, editor,The Literary Remains of Samuel Taylor Coleridge‎^[15], volume 4, London: W. Pickering, page140:

     […] there appears a very chilling want of open-heartedness on the part of Owen, produced perhaps by the somewhatoverly and certainly most ungracious resentments of Baxter.

• lovyer,volery,volyer