OVERCOMPENSATION

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

Excessive compensation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("overcompensation" is a kind of...):

compensation (something (such as money) given or received as payment or reparation (as for a service or loss or injury))

Meaning:

(psychiatry) an attempt to overcome a real or imagined defect or unwanted trait by overly exaggerating its opposite

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("overcompensation" is a kind of...):

compensation ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism that conceals your undesirable shortcomings by exaggerating desirable behaviors)

Domain category:

psychiatry; psychological medicine; psychopathology (the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders)

Derivation:

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