Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To burden excessively with rules and regulations.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To regulate to a greater degree than appropriate

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

over- +‎ regulate

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Examples

  • The three council members who voted against the ban used "overregulate" and "overkill" to describe the measure.

    chicagotribune.com - 2010

  • Mr. Le Maire said that diverging interests made any agreement difficult: China, for example, is worried about demands for greater transparency of food stocks and production; and the U.K. is concerned not to overregulate the commodities trade.

    G-20 Ministers to Seek Ways to Avoid Food Crisis Sebastian Moffett 2011

  • So we get a choice between a left that wants to overregulate corporations and a right that wants to let them get away with blatantly criminal behavior.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Prosecuting BP 2010

  • They were the overregulating--they tended to overregulate.

    Class War Stories 2011

  • Mr. Le Maire said that diverging interests made any agreement difficult: China, for example, is worried about demands for greater transparency of food stocks and production; and the U.K. is concerned not to overregulate the commodities trade.

    G-20 Ministers to Seek Ways to Avoid Food Crisis Sebastian Moffett 2011

  • The fear is, when the FDA goes to regulate, do they overregulate and in that overregulation do they say the nicotine levels need to be lower, ponders Poole.

    High-tech smokes help some kick habit, but are they safe? 2011

  • Conservatives have long warned that the Obama FCC might revive the doctrine anyway, so it's only fair to note when a regulatory agency resists the urge to overregulate.

    Fairness Doctrine, R.I.P. 2011

  • The fear is, when the FDA goes to regulate, do they overregulate and in that overregulation do they say the nicotine levels need to be lower, ponders Poole.

    High-tech smokes help some kick habit, but are they safe? 2011

  • The more Mr. Obama and his White House team practice their putting strokes, the less time they'd have to pass more stimulus, overregulate more industries, or raise more taxes.

    Swing Away, Mr. President 2010

  • There always is the risk that it will be ineffectual or go too far and overregulate.

    The New Consumer Bureau: a To-Do List 2010

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