**Overinterpretation** refers to the act of assigning **excessive meaning or significance** to data, results, or events — **going beyond what the evidence actually supports**.

### In research or clinical settings, overinterpretation might involve:
- **Claiming causation** when only an **association** is shown.
- **Drawing broad conclusions** from a **small sample** or **weak data**.
- Treating a **surrogate marker** as if it guarantees a clinical outcome (when it’s not validated).
- **Overstating the relevance** of a statistically significant finding that lacks clinical importance.

### Example:
If a new drug lowers a biomarker but there’s **no proof** that it improves survival, and yet the study claims it “saves lives” — that’s overinterpretation.