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overcompensation

 - 4 dictionary results

o⋅ver⋅com⋅pen⋅sa⋅tion

  [oh-ver-kom-puhn-sey-shuhn]
Use overcompensation in a Sentence
–noun Psychoanalysis.
1. a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
2. compensation to an unnecessary or unreasonable degree: The pay was overcompensation for the work done.
Origin:
1915–20; over- + compensation; as psychoanalytic term, trans. of Überkompensation, coined by Alfred Adler

Related forms:
o⋅ver⋅com⋅pen⋅sa⋅to⋅ry  [oh-ver-kuhm-pen-suh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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o·ver·com·pen·sa·tion   (ō'vər-kŏm'pən-sā'shən)   
n.  Excessive compensation, especially the exertion of effort in excess of that needed to compensate for a physical or psychological characteristic or defect.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: over·com·pen·sa·tion
Pronunciation: -"käm-p&n-'sA-sh&n, -"pen-
Function: noun
: excessive compensation;specifically : excessive reaction to a feeling of inferiority, guilt, or inadequacy leading to an exaggerated attempt to overcome the feeling —over·com·pen·sate /-'käm-p&n-"sAt/ verb -sat·ed; -sat·ing
—over·com·pen·sa·to·ry /-k&m-'pen(t)-s&-"tOr-E, -"tor-/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

overcompensation o·ver·com·pen·sa·tion (ō'vər-kŏm'pən-sā'shən)
n.

  1. Excessive compensation, especially the exertion of effort beyond what is needed to compensate for a physical or psychological characteristic or defect.

  2. An extreme neurotic striving for power or prestige because of a feeling of inferiority.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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