Overinterpretative

Describing a tendency to attribute excessive or unwarranted meaning or significance to something, often leading to a misconstrued understanding. An overinterpretative person reads between the lines excessively, drawing conclusions unsupported by the available evidence. They might impose personal biases or preconceived notions onto a situation, text, or behavior, leading to an inaccurate assessment. This characteristic often involves reading more into things than is actually present, creating elaborate explanations that are not substantiated. The core issue lies in the application of a subjective filter that distorts objective facts or information. The resulting interpretations are therefore often speculative rather than factual.

Overinterpretative meaning with examples

• After receiving a delayed reply to his email, John became overinterpretative, convinced his boss was angry, and started to suspect that he would soon be fired. He missed the explanation given by his manager.
• The film critic was often criticized for being overinterpretative, reading political allegories into even the most lighthearted comedies. He wrote long essays that were often far too deep for the subject.
• The detective, prone to being overinterpretative, analyzed the suspect's nervous cough and concluded he was hiding something, though the suspect just had a cold. This created a flawed line of inquiry.
• Sarah, an overinterpretative reader, thought the author's simple story was a commentary on the failings of modern society, completely missing the author's stated intention: to entertain and educate. This created an incorrect analysis of the written word.