overly defensive

Frequency: 6.38.8 per million words

To be more defensive than is necessary or appropriate.

defensiveADVERB + defensive

Categories:

overly

Examples (10)

  • He becomes overly defensive whenever you critique his work.
  • Try not to be overly defensive during your performance review; the feedback is meant to help.
  • She came across as overly defensive about the project's delays.
  • Why do you always get so overly defensive when I ask a simple question?
  • His overly defensive tone made it impossible to have a calm conversation.
  • I realized I was being overly defensive about my choices, so I took a step back.
  • It's counterproductive to get overly defensive when receiving constructive criticism.
  • If you sound overly defensive, people might think you have something to hide.
  • The politician's response was criticized for being overly defensive.
  • Being overly defensive is often a sign of underlying insecurity.