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

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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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.

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

“But we have to be on the same page and trust that the guy next to us is going to do his job, and we don’t have to overcompensate for anything.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025

“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

The elephantine grand piano can easily bully its smaller partners or timidly overcompensate.

From New York Times • May 6, 2023

My feet slip in the sloping gravel—it’s like running in sand, and I overcompensate by pitching forward.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

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