overdetermined

adjective

over·​de·​ter·​mined ˌō-vər-di-ˈtər-mənd 

1

: excessively determined

2

: having more than one determining psychological factor

Examples of overdetermined in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But that newfound vitality disguised an overdetermined sense of the precarity and vulnerability of childhood. — Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023

Assembly theory, its advocates say, escapes from that kind of overdetermined picture. — Philip Ball, Quanta Magazine, 4 May 2023

Out of such simple things are the deepest metaphors made, often overdetermined or contradictory, imbued with preternatural power. — Ange Mlinko, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2022

Its bulbous concrete supports reminded me of towers of Champagne glasses or an overdetermined cake, a showy design that seems to demonstrate form for form’s sake. — Eva Hagberg, Curbed, 16 June 2022

The sequels abound with chattering characters—the Merovingian, the Last Exile, the Analyst—who pile up a Jenga tower of explanations for what’s going on, but whose relationship to the story feels both overdetermined and maddeningly elusive. — Ryu Spaeth, The New Republic, 22 Dec. 2021

The division between the chimpanzees of Nigeria-Cameroon and those of the western Congo region may be one with an overdetermined number of causes. — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 4 July 2013

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for overdetermined

• determined
• predetermined
• redetermined
• undetermined
• termined

Medical Definition

overdetermined

adjective

over·​de·​ter·​mined -di-ˈtər-mənd 

: having more than one determining psychological factor : affording an outlet for more than a single wish or need

an overdetermined dream symbol

overdetermination

-di-ˌtər-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun