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OVERCOMPENSATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
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))
Sense 2
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)
