overcompensation
[ oh-ver-kom-puhn-sey-shuhn ]
/ ˈoʊ vərˌkɒm pənˈseɪ ʃən /
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noun Psychoanalysis.
a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
compensation to an unnecessary or unreasonable degree: The pay was overcompensation for the work done.
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Origin of overcompensation
1915–20; over- + compensation; as psychoanalytic term, translation of Überkompensation, coined by Alfred Adler
OTHER WORDS FROM overcompensation
o·ver·com·pen·sa·to·ry [oh-ver-kuhm-pen-suh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], /ˈoʊ vər kəmˈpɛn səˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use overcompensation in a sentence
And with this we have admitted a disadvantage of the compensation principle—over-compensation.
British Dictionary definitions for overcompensation
overcompensation
/ (ˌəʊvəˌkɒmpɛnˈseɪʃən) /
noun
psychol an attempt to make up for a character trait by overexaggerating its opposite
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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