overcompensate
Americanverb (used with object)
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overcompensates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overcompensated,
past participle, past
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overcompensating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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overcompensates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overcompensated,
past participle, past
-
overcompensating
present participle
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
-
have overcompensatedperfect
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has overcompensatedperfect
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am overcompensatingprogressive
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are overcompensatingprogressive
-
is overcompensatingprogressive
-
have been overcompensatingperfect progressive
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has been overcompensatingperfect progressive
Past
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overcompensatedsimple
-
had overcompensatedperfect
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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:
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
“For years, I internalized the idea that my brain was ‘wrong’ and that I had to work twice as hard, overcompensate and mask my symptoms to be taken seriously in professional spaces,” Colzie said.
From Salon ● Mar. 2, 2025
I guess it’s because everything’s so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they’ve got to overcompensate or something.
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
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
If the comedy overcompensates at the expense of landing every gag, then good on her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2025
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
"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
After its sales skyrocketed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peloton overcompensated by spending hundreds of millions to expedite shipping and build a new factory.
From The Verge ● Feb. 19, 2022
New York’s star left wing fired a shot from the left circle into an empty net as Lankinen had overcompensated for Strome at the goalmouth.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 4, 2021
Some analyses of the relief program indicate that farmers are being overcompensated.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 1, 2019
Jessie lifted up a knee to prop up the tray but overcompensated.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
I’m not claiming that he’s overcompensating, but, yeah, he is.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026
But the Finance and Leasing Association, the body that represents the lending industry, has said the FCA is "overcompensating".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2025
Rudy may have been the scene-stealer in the earliest seasons of the show, but Theo had the most heart, striving to live up to his parents’ high expectations while behaviorally overcompensating for his low grades.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2025
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
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.
