Overcompensate — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

make up for shortcomings or a feeling of inferiority by exaggerating good qualities

make excessive corrections for fear of making an error

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ˌoʊvɚkˈɑːmpənsˌeɪt/

🇬🇧British English

/ˌəʊvəkˈɒmpənsˌeɪt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ˌəʊvəkˈɒmpənsˌeɪt/

5 syllables Say it as /ˌoʊvɚkˈɑːmpənsˌeɪt/.

Examples

he is compensating for being a bad father

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

compensate cover over-correct

Parts of Speech

verb	make up for shortcomings or a feeling of inferiority by exaggerating good qualities “he is compensating for being a bad father”
verb	make excessive corrections for fear of making an error

Word Forms

compensation	noun	(psychiatry) a defense mechanism that conceals your undesirable shortcomings by exaggerating desirable behaviors
overcompensation	noun	(psychiatry) an attempt to overcome a real or imagined defect or unwanted trait by overly exaggerating its opposite

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

überkompensieren

Unzulänglichkeiten oder Minderwertigkeitsgefühle ausgleichen, indem man gute Eigenschaften übertreibt

🇫🇷French

surcompenser

compenser des défauts ou un sentiment d'infériorité en exagérant les bonnes qualités

🇪🇸Spanish

sobrecompensar

compensar las deficiencias o un sentimiento de inferioridad exagerando las buenas cualidades

🇮🇹Italian

sovracompensare

compensare i difetti o il senso di inferiorità esagerando le buone qualità

🇳🇱Dutch

overcompenseren

tekortkomingen of een gevoel van minderwaardigheid compenseren door goede eigenschappen te overdrijven

🇵🇹Portuguese

compensar demais

compensar deficiências ou sentimento de inferioridade exagerando boas qualidades

🇷🇺Russian

сверхкомпенсировать

компенсировать недостатки или чувство неполноценности преувеличением хороших качеств

India

🇮🇳Hindi

भरपाई

अच्छे गुणों को बढ़ा-चढ़ाकर पेश करके कमियों या हीनता की भावना को पूरा करना

🇧🇩Bengali

অতিরিক্ত ক্ষতিপূরণ

ভাল গুণাবলী অতিরঞ্জিত করে ত্রুটি বা হীনমন্যতার অনুভূতি পূরণ করুন

🇮🇳Tamil

அதிக ஈடு

நல்ல குணங்களை பெரிதுபடுத்துவதன் மூலம் குறைபாடுகளை அல்லது தாழ்வு மனப்பான்மையை ஈடுசெய்யுங்கள்

🇮🇳Telugu

అధిక పరిహారం

మంచి లక్షణాలను అతిశయోక్తి చేయడం ద్వారా లోపాలను లేదా న్యూనతా భావాన్ని భర్తీ చేయండి

🇮🇳Marathi

जास्त भरपाई

चांगल्या गुणांची अतिशयोक्ती करून कमतरता किंवा कनिष्ठतेची भावना भरून काढा

🇮🇳Gujarati

વધુ પડતું વળતર

સારા ગુણોને અતિશયોક્તિ કરીને ખામીઓ અથવા હીનતાની લાગણી માટે બનાવો

🇮🇳Kannada

ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪರಿಹಾರ

ಉತ್ತಮ ಗುಣಗಳನ್ನು ಉತ್ಪ್ರೇಕ್ಷಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ನ್ಯೂನತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಅಥವಾ ಕೀಳರಿಮೆಯ ಭಾವನೆಯನ್ನು ಸರಿದೂಗಿಸಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അമിത നഷ്ടപരിഹാരം നൽകുക

നല്ല ഗുണങ്ങളെ പെരുപ്പിച്ചു കാണിക്കുന്നതിലൂടെ കുറവുകൾ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ അപകർഷതാബോധം നികത്തുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਵੱਧ ਮੁਆਵਜ਼ਾ

ਚੰਗੇ ਗੁਣਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵਧਾ-ਚੜ੍ਹਾ ਕੇ ਕਮੀਆਂ ਜਾਂ ਘਟੀਆਪਣ ਦੀ ਭਾਵਨਾ ਨੂੰ ਪੂਰਾ ਕਰੋ

🇵🇰Urdu

زیادہ معاوضہ

اچھی خوبیوں کو بڑھا چڑھا کر پیش کر کے کمیوں یا احساس کمتری کو پورا کرنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

过度补偿

通过夸大优点来弥补缺点或自卑感

🇯🇵Japanese

過剰補償する

良い点を誇張することで欠点や劣等感を補う

🇰🇷Korean

과잉 보상하다

장점을 과장하여 단점이나 열등감을 보완하다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

bù đắp quá mức

bù đắp những khuyết điểm hoặc cảm giác tự ti bằng cách phóng đại những phẩm chất tốt

🇹🇭Thai

ชดเชยมากเกินไป

ชดเชยข้อบกพร่องหรือความรู้สึกต่ำต้อยด้วยการแสดงคุณสมบัติที่ดีเกินจริง

🇮🇩Indonesian

memberikan kompensasi yang berlebihan

menebus kekurangan atau perasaan rendah diri dengan melebih-lebihkan sifat-sifat baik

🇲🇾Malay

terlebih pampasan

menebus kekurangan atau perasaan rendah diri dengan melebih-lebihkan sifat-sifat yang baik

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تعويض زائد

تعويض النقص أو الشعور بالنقص بالمبالغة في الصفات الحميدة

🇮🇷Persian

جبران بیش از حد

کمبودها یا احساس حقارت را با اغراق در صفات خوب جبران کنید

🇹🇷Turkish

aşırı telafi etmek

İyi nitelikleri abartarak eksiklikleri veya aşağılık duygusunu telafi etmek

🇮🇱Hebrew

לפצות יתר על המידה

לפצות על חסרונות או תחושת נחיתות על ידי הגזמת תכונות טובות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'overcompensate'?

The primary meaning of 'overcompensate' is 'make up for shortcomings or a feeling of inferiority by exaggerating good qualities'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'overcompensate' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'overcompensate' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'overcompensate' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'overcompensate' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'overcompensate' in your daily reading?

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Occasionally

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Do you find 'overcompensate' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

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In your opinion, does the word 'overcompensate' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'overcompensate' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'overcompensate' in a professional email?

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Would you classify 'overcompensate' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

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Slang

Archaic

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