overcompensate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overcompensates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overcompensated,
past participle, past
-
overcompensating
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
overcompensates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overcompensated,
past participle, past
-
overcompensating
present participle
verb
-
to compensate (a person or thing) excessively
-
(intr) psychol to engage in overcompensation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overcompensatesimple
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overcompensatessimple
-
have overcompensatedperfect
-
has overcompensatedperfect
-
am overcompensatingprogressive
-
are overcompensatingprogressive
-
is overcompensatingprogressive
-
have been overcompensatingperfect progressive
-
has been overcompensatingperfect progressive
Past
-
overcompensatedsimple
-
had overcompensatedperfect
-
was overcompensatingprogressive
-
were overcompensatingprogressive
-
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:
But his intimidating onyx armor obscures all that, much in the way Darth Vader’s helmet and cloak overcompensate for his shriveled form.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
I also learned to overcompensate and create a persona that helped me talk comfortably to people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Sometimes the former defensive player of the year is forced to overcompensate for his teammates’ mistakes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 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
Her breeziness was forced, laid on thickly, and Ifemelu felt burdened with guilt, and with a desire to overcompensate.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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
The songs are written from the point of view of a "woman who feels powerless and overcompensates by exercising extreme control on herself and on her environment," Mitski told The Outline.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2018
Working from a screenplay by Douglas Soesbe that juggles contrivance and insight, Montiel labors to avoid sensationalizing Nolan's story, and in the process he overcompensates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2015
"I had money and had to keep myself occupied. I overcompensated but that's the way I dealt with it."
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2025
They overcompensated for Scott’s style by hiring a nice-guy replacement, Kliavkoff, who wouldn’t cause any friction.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 18, 2024
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
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
He said in those early years he was often overcompensating for his own feelings of inadequacy as the son of a single mom who struggled to pay the rent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
However, the director of the body that represents the lending industry said it thought the FCA was "overcompensating".
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
The movie seems to recoil from its own hammering dramatics, with Bryce Dessner’s score toggling uneasily between jocular blues and dour, overcompensating strings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025
“You don’t think he’s overcompensating do you?” a former GOP member of Congress asked me.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2025
But was Rowan overcompensating now by choosing the most pleasant looking of them?
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
