1. feared or dreaded excessively; regarded with more fear than is warranted
Usage: often used in literary or formal contexts

1. past tense and past participle of 'overfear': to fear excessively or more than necessary
Usage: less common than the adjective form

Examples

• The overfeared monster turned out to be harmless.
• She overfeared the exam and performed better than expected.
• The disease was overfeared by the public due to media coverage.
• He had overfeared the confrontation for weeks before it happened.
• The overfeared consequences never materialized.
• They overfeared the economic downturn more than was justified.