MEANING
Greater than is needed, acceptable, or reasonable in the circumstances.
Use it for
criticizing excessive confidence in limited evidence; identifying disproportionate emphasis on one factor; questioning pressure that goes beyond what is reasonableCriticizes excessive weight or pressure relative to a reasoned standard, not merely an unwelcome effect. Academic functions: Qualification / Uncertainty, Argumentation, Evidence.
Words that belong together
- undue emphasis
- undue influence
- undue confidence
On the page
The interpretation places undue emphasis on one letter while neglecting the rest of the correspondence.
The small sample should prevent undue confidence in a conclusion about the whole population.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- undue
Usage notes
Usually before a noun: undue influence, undue emphasis. Normally non-gradable; avoid artificial comparative or superlative forms. Register: formal. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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