as in excesses
the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed
the song already borders on the maudlin—the addition of a syrupy string accompaniment would just be overkill
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overkills
Noun
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As much as any other institution—schools, libraries, churches—the public-health system has helped propagate the idea of a commons, often working against historical inertia to curb the excesses of American individualism.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026 -
Foreign observers, Liu argues, tend to portray Chinese people as either the enablers or the victims of their government’s excesses.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Lawmakers should strengthen the spending and volatility caps by limiting off budget workarounds and ensuring that one-time surpluses are used responsibly.—
Carol Platt Liebau,
Hartford Courant,
5 Feb. 2026
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The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs each have infield surpluses, making players like Isaac Paredes, Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw logical targets.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As a result, sewage blockages and overflows became widespread, increasing the risk of wastewater contaminating drinking water sources and heightening the likelihood of outbreaks of diarrhea, hepatitis A and other waterborne diseases in an already vulnerable community.—
Sarah Ferguson,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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However, long-term problems persist as completely eliminating overflows will take decades, according to officials.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Some of these volatiles are brought to the moon from the sun via the solar wind, but the abundances of these volatiles, particularly nitrogen, cannot solely be explained by the solar wind.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
15 Dec. 2025
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According to the team, this means that having a dog in the house might shift the abundances of some mouth bacteria—potentially bacteria that might correlate with the adolescents’ psychological scores.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
3 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Overkills.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overkills. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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