overcompensate

American  

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

verb (used with object)

overcompensated, overcompensating

1. to compensate or reward excessively; overpay.

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

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verb (used without object)

overcompensated, overcompensating

1. 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

1. to compensate (a person or thing) excessively

2. (intr) psychol to engage in overcompensation

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Other Word Forms

• overcompensatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of overcompensate

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

Example Sentences

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

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

From New York Times • May 6, 2023

To conquer it, Williams said he would overcompensate, sometimes giving artists dozens of visual references or heavily detailed documentation.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2022

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