MEANING
Including cases or people beyond what a stated purpose reasonably requires.
Use it for
saying that a category includes irrelevant cases; criticizing a rule that applies too broadly; distinguishing broad coverage from poorly justified inclusion; showing a filter that wrongly captures relevant material as unwantedNames the opposite coverage problem: including cases beyond those relevant or necessary for an intended purpose. Writing functions: Significance / Scope.
Words that belong together
- an overinclusive definition
- an overinclusive category
- an overinclusive rule
On the page
The category is overinclusive if it treats every institutional change as democratization, including reforms that reduce representation.
The filter proved overinclusive, removing relevant documents alongside irrelevant ones.
Word forms
- Base
- overinclusive
Usage notes
Adjective; more/most overinclusive are natural when comparing degree. No overinclusiver or overinclusivest. Also over-inclusive; one canonical entry. Register: formal. Commonness: uncommon outside legal, policy and analytical writing (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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