overrespond
React too strongly
To overrespond is to react more strongly or extensively than a situation warrants.
Someone might overrespond to criticism by becoming defensive, or a government might overrespond to a minor threat with excessive force.
The word implies a mismatch between stimulus and reaction: The immune system overresponds to harmless allergens.
I think you're overresponding to what was meant as gentle teasing.
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
- overstateRepresent as greater
- dramatizeDepict with heightened emotion
- overplayEmphasize excessively
- overemphasizeStress something too much
amplify · inflate · embellish · magnify · escalate · overestimate · catastrophize · blow out of proportion
Uncontrollable sudden fear
- alarmUrgent warning signal
- hysteriaUncontrollable emotional excess
- meltdownCatastrophic loss of control
- frenzyViolent mental agitation
outburst · blowup · tantrum · drama · overkill · escalation · uproar · overwrought
Exaggerated response to stimuli
- allergyAdverse immune response
- histamineAllergy-response compound
- inflammationProtective tissue response
- anaphylaxisSevere systemic allergic reaction
intolerance · flare-up · trigger · irritant · autoimmune · hyperreactive
Wary and restrained
- reactiveTending to respond
- bristlingStanding stiffly outward
- pricklySpiny or irritable
- combativeInclined toward conflict
wary · rebuff · retaliation · counterattack · lashing out · snapping · deflecting · justifying
hyperbole
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
overemphasize · amplify · inflate · embellish · magnify · escalate · overestimate · catastrophize · blow out of proportion · sensationalize
panic
Uncontrollable sudden fear
- alarmUrgent warning signal
- hysteriaUncontrollable emotional excess
- meltdownCatastrophic loss of control
frenzy · outburst · blowup · tantrum · drama · overkill · escalation · uproar · overwrought · turmoil
hypersensitivity
Exaggerated response to stimuli
- allergyAdverse immune response
- histamineAllergy-response compound
- inflammationProtective tissue response
anaphylaxis · intolerance · flare-up · trigger · irritant · autoimmune · hyperreactive
guarded
Wary and restrained
combative · wary · rebuff · retaliation · counterattack · lashing out · snapping · deflecting · justifying · rationalizing
overrespondunderreact
Respond insufficiently to stimulus
shrug off · ignore · downplay · brush off · measured response