overcompensate

[ oh-ver-kom-puhn-seyt ]

verb (used with object)

, o·ver·com·pen·sat·ed, o·ver·com·pen·sat·ing.

1. to compensate or reward excessively; overpay:

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

verb (used without object)

, o·ver·com·pen·sat·ed, o·ver·com·pen·sat·ing.

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

/ ˌəʊvəˈkɒmpɛnˌseɪt /

verb

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

Derived Forms

• ˌoverˈcompenˌsatory, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of overcompensate¹

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

Example Sentences

“You have to start somewhere, and sometimes you have to overcompensate,” Al-Lazeez said.

From Seattle Times

Google apologized Friday for its faulty rollout of a new artificial intelligence image-generator, acknowledging that in some cases the tool would “overcompensate” in seeking a diverse range of people even when such a range didn’t make sense.

From Seattle Times

"If you did, you're likely to overcompensate."

From Science Daily

If you have impostor syndrome, you might try to appear perfect: You may hold back suggestions at work because you aren’t sure that they are the very best ideas, you might try to overcompensate for a perceived deficit by pouring time into even insignificant projects, you might not ask for help because you don’t want to admit to needing assistance.

From Slate

In her case, Hutchings emphasized that "I don't feel I tended to apologize or overcompensate because of being neurodivergent, but rather because neither myself nor those around me understood who I was or my internal operating system."

From Salon