Synonyms

overcompensate

American

[oh-ver-kom-puhn-seyt] / ˌoʊ vərˈkɒm pənˌseɪt /

verb (used with object)

to compensate or reward excessively; overpay.

Some stockholders feel the executives are being overcompensated and that bonuses should be reduced.

verb (used without object)

to exhibit psychological overcompensation; strive to overcome a sense of inferiority through overt, opposite behavior.

The aggressive patient may be overcompensating, and be a profoundly shy person beneath the façade.

overcompensate British

/ ˌəʊvəˈkɒmpɛnˌseɪt /

verb

to compensate (a person or thing) excessively
(intr) psychol to engage in overcompensation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

overcompensatory

adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of overcompensate

1760–70; over- + compensate; as term in psychology, perhaps back formation from overcompensation

Vocabulary lists containing overcompensate

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023