overcompensate

UK: /ˌəʊvəˈkɒmpɛnˌseɪt/ US: (ō′vər kom′pən sāt′)

Inflections of 'overcompensate' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

overcompensates

v 3rd person singular

overcompensating

v pres p

overcompensated

v past

overcompensated

v past p

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

o•ver•com•pen•sate  (ō′vər kom′pən sāt′), v., -sat•ed, -sat•ing. 
v.t. 

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

v.i. 

2. Psychiatry 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.

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