oversimplify

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *úp
Proto-Indo-European *-er
Proto-Indo-European *upér
Proto-Germanic *uber
Old English ofer-
Middle English over-
English over-
English simplify
English oversimplify

    From over- + simplify.

    Pronunciation

    • Audio (US):(file)

    Verb

    oversimplify (third-person singular simple present oversimplifies, present participle oversimplifying, simple past and past participle oversimplified)

    1. (transitive) To explain or represent a complex matter through an excessively reduced description that fails to account for relevant factors, conditions, or exceptions and consequently mischaracterizes the matter.
      • 1964 June, “News and Comment: Only 26 per cent of freight on rail”, in Modern Railways, page 369:
        But the report stresses that this comparison, based purely on the total transport performed, oversimplifies the picture. The kinds of work performed by rail and rail transport are not identical.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    Translations
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