Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Too sensitive, nervous, or tense.
- adjective Too tightly strung.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Too highly strung; too sensitively organized.
- Noting a pianoforte in which the strings are arranged in two sets, one crossing obliquely over the other.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Excessively
tense ornervous - adjective
Strung too tightly
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective too tightly strung
- adjective being in a tense state
Etymologies
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Examples
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In case such an instrument has "overstrung" wires, it can be restored to a tone that is better than that of the usual upright piano.
Practical Suggestions for Mother and Housewife Marion Mills Miller 1906
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Ill-fed, suffering from innutrition and the evil effects of overcrowding and squalor, their constitutions develop a morbid craving for the drink, just as the sickly stomach of the overstrung Manchester factory operative hankers after excessive quantities of pickles and similar weird foods.
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My overstrung nerves failed me suddenly, and I turned and ran -- ran as though some dreadful hand were behind me clutching at the skirt of my dress.
Sole Music 2010
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I was so overstrung that he merely had to touch me to cause a shiver.
Wildfire Sarah Micklem 2009
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I was so overstrung that he merely had to touch me to cause a shiver.
Wildfire Sarah Micklem 2009
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I was so overstrung that he merely had to touch me to cause a shiver.
Wildfire Sarah Micklem 2009
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This intense desire, which made him work so many interests and devise so many springs, absorbed the last strength of his terribly overstrung soul.
Albert Savarus 2007
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This intense desire, which made him work so many interests and devise so many springs, absorbed the last strength of his terribly overstrung soul.
Albert Savarus 2007
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It should have helped calm her overstrung nerves, but instead it seemed to be bringing the room into super-focus.
Purchased For Revenge James, Julia 2006
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It should have helped calm her overstrung nerves, but instead it seemed to be bringing the room into super-focus.
Purchased for Revenge James, Julia 2006
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