Meaning of overpunctuate | Babel Free

Definitions

To punctuate excessively.

Examples

“Do not overpunctuate; it is much easier than to underpunctuate. The general tendency nowadays is to make punctuation less copious than formerly.”

“In such works it is of the utmost importance to leave no room for doubt as to the meaning of the text, and the policy, in consequence, is to overpunctuate rather than not to punctuate enough.”

“Do not overpunctuate. But do not underpunctuate. Make your sentence constructions so clear that it will be possible for you to keep punctuation at a minimum.”

“If there is any tendency in punctuation, it is to overpunctuate rather than underpunctuate in order to keep fairly involved sentences moving smoothly.”

“Under those circumstances, I felt obliged to use every device I could imagine to assist them in reading their lines, and sprinkled punctuation amid my prose like a glutton sugaring strawberries. It helped, and I tend to overpunctuate to this day. I practice overpunctuation, although I do not defend it. But the word processor, I believe, will in time change our perceptions of what constitutes overpunctuation.[…]I myself overpunctuate wildly, probably for the reason I pointed out earlier, although it may only be that my genes are badly tangled or something of that general sort.”

“Students may overpunctuate rather than underpunctuate sentences. Because they feel that sentences must be punctuated, students have a tendency to insert commas randomly through sentences.”

“When in doubt, overpunctuate. Punctuation is important in all types of writing, but it is mandatory in international documents. Without punctuation, the probability of the evaluator getting lost increases dramatically. Overpunctuate international proposals, even though the trend is to under punctuate in domestic correspondence. The intent of punctuation is to add clarity, so make sure your overpunctuation is correct.”

CEFR level