"overpunctuation" meaning in English

See overpunctuation in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Etymology: From over- + punctuation. Etymology templates: {{prefix|en|over|punctuation}} over- + punctuation Head templates: {{en-noun|-}} overpunctuation (uncountable)
  1. Excessive punctuation. Tags: uncountable Related terms: overpunctuate
    Sense id: en-overpunctuation-en-noun-V5ZFyTjX Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms prefixed with over-

Download JSON data for overpunctuation meaning in English (2.8kB)

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "underpunctuation"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "over",
        "3": "punctuation"
      },
      "expansion": "over- + punctuation",
      "name": "prefix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From over- + punctuation.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "overpunctuation (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with over-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1861, Scriba, “Punctuation.—Number IV.”, in The Illinois Teacher: Devoted to Education, Science, and Free Schools, volume VII, Peoria, Ill.: N. C. Nason, page 389",
          "text": "There is no need of the commas after vindictive and the four words subsequent; and so many needless points serve rather to confuse. Overpunctuation is a very common fault in our American books; the rules of Mandeville, Goold Brown, and Mulligan, as well as of Wilson’s Punctuation, do not tend to cure the evil, but rather to perpetuate it, since they lead the writer to put in a comma wherever, by rule, there may be a place for one, without inquiring into the necessity for it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1984, Stephen White, The Written Word, and Associated Digressions Concerned with the Writer as Craftsman, Harper & Row, pages 73 and 93",
          "text": "Under those circumstances, I felt obliged to use every device I could imagine to assist them in reading their lines, and sprinkled punctuation amid my prose like a glutton sugaring strawberries. It helped, and I tend to overpunctuate to this day. I practice overpunctuation, although I do not defend it. But the word processor, I believe, will in time change our perceptions of what constitutes overpunctuation.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Larry Newman, “International Proposals”, in Shipley Associates Proposal Guide for Business Development Professionals, 2nd edition, Shipley Associates, page 69",
          "text": "When in doubt, overpunctuate. Punctuation is important in all types of writing, but it is mandatory in international documents. Without punctuation, the probability of the evaluator getting lost increases dramatically. Overpunctuate international proposals, even though the trend is to under punctuate in domestic correspondence. The intent of punctuation is to add clarity, so make sure your overpunctuation is correct.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Excessive punctuation."
      ],
      "id": "en-overpunctuation-en-noun-V5ZFyTjX",
      "links": [
        [
          "punctuation",
          "punctuation"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "overpunctuate"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "overpunctuation"
}
{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "underpunctuation"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "over",
        "3": "punctuation"
      },
      "expansion": "over- + punctuation",
      "name": "prefix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From over- + punctuation.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "overpunctuation (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "overpunctuate"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms prefixed with over-",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncountable nouns"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1861, Scriba, “Punctuation.—Number IV.”, in The Illinois Teacher: Devoted to Education, Science, and Free Schools, volume VII, Peoria, Ill.: N. C. Nason, page 389",
          "text": "There is no need of the commas after vindictive and the four words subsequent; and so many needless points serve rather to confuse. Overpunctuation is a very common fault in our American books; the rules of Mandeville, Goold Brown, and Mulligan, as well as of Wilson’s Punctuation, do not tend to cure the evil, but rather to perpetuate it, since they lead the writer to put in a comma wherever, by rule, there may be a place for one, without inquiring into the necessity for it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1984, Stephen White, The Written Word, and Associated Digressions Concerned with the Writer as Craftsman, Harper & Row, pages 73 and 93",
          "text": "Under those circumstances, I felt obliged to use every device I could imagine to assist them in reading their lines, and sprinkled punctuation amid my prose like a glutton sugaring strawberries. It helped, and I tend to overpunctuate to this day. I practice overpunctuation, although I do not defend it. But the word processor, I believe, will in time change our perceptions of what constitutes overpunctuation.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Larry Newman, “International Proposals”, in Shipley Associates Proposal Guide for Business Development Professionals, 2nd edition, Shipley Associates, page 69",
          "text": "When in doubt, overpunctuate. Punctuation is important in all types of writing, but it is mandatory in international documents. Without punctuation, the probability of the evaluator getting lost increases dramatically. Overpunctuate international proposals, even though the trend is to under punctuate in domestic correspondence. The intent of punctuation is to add clarity, so make sure your overpunctuation is correct.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Excessive punctuation."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "punctuation",
          "punctuation"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "overpunctuation"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-06-04 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (e9e0a99 and db5a844). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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