overcompensation
[ oh-ver-kom-puh n-sey-shuh n ]
/ ˈoʊ vərˌkɒm pənˈseɪ ʃən /
noun Psychoanalysis.
a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
compensation to an unnecessary or unreasonable degree: The pay was overcompensation for the work done.
Origin of overcompensation
1915–20;
over- +
compensation; as psychoanalytic term, translation of
Überkompensation, coined by Alfred Adler
OTHER WORDS FROM overcompensation
o·ver·com·pen·sa·to·ry [oh-ver-kuh m-pen-suh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈoʊ vər kəmˈpɛn səˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectiveWords nearby overcompensation
overcoating,
overcoil,
overcome,
overcommit,
overcompensate,
overcompensation,
overcomplex,
overconfident,
overconsumption,
overcook,
overcorrection
British Dictionary definitions for over-compensation
overcompensation
/ (ˌəʊvəˌkɒmpɛnˈseɪʃən) /
noun
psychol
an attempt to make up for a character trait by overexaggerating its opposite
Medical definitions for over-compensation
overcompensation
[ ō′vər-kŏm′pən-sā′shən ]
n.
Excessive compensation, especially the exertion of effort beyond what is needed to compensate for a physical or psychological characteristic or defect.