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Definition of "overcompensation" []

  • Excessive compensation, especially the exertion of effort in excess of that needed to compensate for a physical or psychological characteristic or defect. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "overcompensation" in a sentence
  • "SECOND OPINION: Hameed Gul: strategic 'overcompensation' - Khaled Ahmed's TV Review Tuesday,"
  • "Cheney's promotion of torture -- and his rabid public defense of it since leaving office -- seem to me like a continuation of the post-9/11 "overcompensation" Prof. Record writes about."
  • "The aftermath, he now admits, was "overcompensation," as he began dating posses of women, including one named Brandy and a pair of twins named Sandy and Mandy."