overcompensate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to compensate (a person or thing) excessively
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(intr) psychol to engage in overcompensation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overcompensatesimple
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overcompensatessimple
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have overcompensatedperfect
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has overcompensatedperfect
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am overcompensatingprogressive
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are overcompensatingprogressive
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is overcompensatingprogressive
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have been overcompensatingperfect progressive
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has been overcompensatingperfect progressive
Past
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overcompensatedsimple
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had overcompensatedperfect
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was overcompensatingprogressive
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were overcompensatingprogressive
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had been overcompensatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overcompensate
1760–70; over- + compensate; as term in psychology, perhaps back formation from overcompensation
Vocabulary lists containing overcompensate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Those caught short, like India and Australia, might overcompensate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
This sounds obvious, she says, but many people “neglect to pause” and try to overcompensate, which causes them to talk in circles.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026
If anything, their father and mother took that away from them and left them feeling powerless, which explains this need for Kendall to overcompensate and try too hard and overshoot the mark.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2023
The trades made in recent days might optimize those cores to reach their full potential, but it’s doubtful any could overcompensate for them if they fall short.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2023
Terryl could overcompensate with the passion of a convert.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Sepsis, which can be life-threatening and is difficult to spot, is an emergency reaction to infection where the immune system overcompensates and damages tissues and organs.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
Inflationary pressures from this wage growth may mean a rate-cutting Fed overcompensates with more aggressive balance sheet cuts to sustain credibility.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
“But we think that spread in P/E multiples overcompensates for the quality difference between the two companies.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 5, 2026
Elena rejects Dovydas at certain times, and Dovydas overcompensates at moments that have them determining if and how they can be together.
From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2023
There’s also the mystery of where Grace came from, which when answered, arrives as a warmed-over sci-fi twist the way too much salt overcompensates for a meal whose blandness is baked in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2018
He got a reprieve when the Eagles were called for an illegal formation, but given a second chance, York overcompensated and pulled a 41-yard attempt left.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 18, 2023
They championed Apple TV Plus early, for instance, even if they overcompensated by practically salivating all over “Ted Lasso.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 12, 2022
Others are saying she overcompensated for her unconvincing aggressiveness last time round - and was too defensive this time.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2022
He said some of the workers’ complaints stem from an error made in calculating daily performance bonuses for two crews, in which one was overcompensated and the other undercompensated, but that was quickly fixed.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2022
He was painfully shy, which, as is often the manner of the painfully shy, he overcompensated for by being too loud at the wrong times.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
However, the director of the body that represents the lending industry said before the final ruling that it thought the FCA was "overcompensating".
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
They don't seem to get that bullies are usually overcompensating.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2024
But “I think they’re overcompensating by making these new guidelines.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
Bowen Yang had just played an overcompensating straight guy opposite Sydney Sweeney on “Saturday Night Live.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 13, 2024
But was Rowan overcompensating now by choosing the most pleasant looking of them?
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
