OVERCOMPENSATE Definition & Meaning

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overcompensate

[ oh-ver-kom-puhn-seyt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

overcompensated, overcompensating.

to compensate or reward excessively; overpay:
Some stockholders feel the executives are being overcompensated and that bonuses should be reduced.

verb (used without object)

overcompensated, overcompensating.

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

/ ˌəʊ��əˈ��ɒ��ɛ��ˌ��ɪ�� /

verb

to compensate (a person or thing) excessively
intr psychol to engage in overcompensation

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Derived Forms

ˌ�Ǳ��ˈ��ǳ��ˌ��ٴǰ��, adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of overcompensate¹

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

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

There's also a growing concern that India may be overcompensating in its efforts to flatter the US.

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"I had money and had to keep myself occupied. I overcompensated but that's the way I dealt with it."

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“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.

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George may have been overcompensating a bit for his extreme displeasure with the route this country took after the election of Ronald Reagan and who could blame him?

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They don't seem to get that bullies are usually overcompensating.

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