overwise

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English overe-wyse, over wise, equivalent to over- +‎ wise.

Adjective

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overwise (comparative more overwise, superlative most overwise)

  1. Excessively wise; too clever for one's own good.
    • 1859, Charles Dickens, The Haunted House:
      “Perkins? Bless you, Perkins wouldn’t go a-nigh the place. No!” observed the young man, with considerable feeling; “he ain’t overwise, ain’t Perkins, but he ain’t such a fool as that.”

Derived terms

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