overeducated

adjective

over·​ed·​u·​cat·​ed ˌō-vər-ˈe-jə-ˌkā-təd How to pronounce overeducated (audio)
: having too much academic education : more educated than is practical or useful
… a solitary, overeducated young man with a boring corporation job, despite an advanced degree in math …Alice Adams
… a ready-made work force of overeducated, underemployed English speakers.David Amsden

Examples of overeducated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There’s plenty such wordplay in The Safe House, to the point that the movie can seem like a caricature of overeducated, perpetually growling Parisians shouting for social change, but too self-centered and comfortable in their bourgeois lifestyles to do anything drastic about it. Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2025 Progressivism, meanwhile, is increasingly obsessed with identity politics and the bugbears of its overeducated elite. Oren Cass, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2021 The worlds of crypto and the New York Times rarely intersect, but this week Crypto Twitter snapped to attention in response to the Gray Lady’s weekly Ethicist column, which is sort of a Dear Abby for the liberal, overeducated set. Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 7 Apr. 2023 At work, Hank deals with the typical absurdities of an English department populated with overeducated, underachieving whiners. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 11 Mar. 2023 Milwaukee’s overeducated hipster baristas and blue-collar commercial electricians have in common? Luther Ray Abel, National Review, 26 Aug. 2021 Hardly anyone knows how to even find her on a map aside from her two closest friends: Eileen, an overeducated and underpaid magazine editor, and Simon, an earnestly handsome political activist five years older than them both. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overeducated was in 1788

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Cite this Entry

“Overeducated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overeducated. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.

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