overreaction
Blown out proportion
An overreaction is a response disproportionate to its cause—too strong, too emotional, too hasty.
The word implies the speaker's judgment that a calmer response would have been appropriate: Calling the police was an overreaction; the kids were just being loud.
To overreact is to respond this way.
What counts as overreaction often depends on perspective—one person's overreaction is another's justified response.
Instinctive and unconsidered
- snap judgmentRapid evaluation without deliberation
- hastyExcessively quick, ill-considered
- rashHeedless or skin irritation
- precipitateHeadlong and reckless
unthinking · instinctive · reflexive · impetuous · jumping the gun · hair-trigger · hotheaded · shooting from the hip
Sensational, emotionally overwrought drama
- histrionicsExaggerated emotional behavior
- dramaticsTheatrical art or behavior
- theatricsExaggerated dramatic behavior
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
spectacle · outburst · tantrum · meltdown · blowup · conniption · hissy fit · drama queen
Intense violent anger
- rageIntense, violent anger
- angerIntense hostile emotion
- temperState of mind
- outburstSudden emotional release
flare-up · explosion · blowup · freakout · panic · hysteria · agitation · losing it
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
- overstatementClaim beyond the facts
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
- inflationSustained price level increase
- magnificationDegree of visual enlargement
overemphasis · catastrophizing · overestimation · embellishment · distortion · overkill · excess · disproportionate
knee-jerk
Instinctive and unconsidered
- snap judgmentRapid evaluation without deliberation
- hastyExcessively quick, ill-considered
- rashHeedless or skin irritation
precipitate · unthinking · instinctive · reflexive · impetuous · jumping the gun · hair-trigger · hotheaded · shooting from the hip · flying off the handle
melodrama
Sensational, emotionally overwrought drama
- histrionicsExaggerated emotional behavior
- dramaticsTheatrical art or behavior
- theatricsExaggerated dramatic behavior
scene · spectacle · outburst · tantrum · meltdown · blowup · conniption · hissy fit · drama queen · hysterics
fury
Intense violent anger
outburst · flare-up · explosion · blowup · freakout · panic · hysteria · agitation · losing it · going ballistic
hyperbole
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
- overstatementClaim beyond the facts
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
- inflationSustained price level increase
magnification · overemphasis · catastrophizing · overestimation · embellishment · distortion · overkill · excess · disproportionate
- comedy termsjokes, puns, wit, sarcasm, irony
- comic mishapsmistaken identity, misunderstanding, mix-up, miscommunication, blunder
- comedy elementspunchline, wit, gag, satire, irony
- comedy tropespratfall, parody, sight gag, running gag, satire
- dramatic behaviortantrum, outburst, meltdown, scene, fit
- outburstsoutburst, burst, eruption, tantrum, meltdown
overreactionunderreaction
Insufficiently strong response
measured response · restraint · composure · equanimity · level-headedness
overreactioncalm
Free from agitation
stoicism · nonchalance · detachment · composure · equanimity