overcompensates
Tries too hard
Overcompensates means to go too far in trying to correct a weakness or deficiency—often creating a new problem in the opposite direction.
Someone insecure about their intelligence might overcompensate by constantly citing credentials.
A car that overcompensates for a skid veers too sharply the other way.
He overcompensates for his shyness by being aggressively talkative.
Exceed reasonable limits
- overkillUnnecessary additional effort
- overreachExceed one's capacity
- overextendExceed one's limits
- overshootGo beyond intended point
overreact · exaggerate · overdrive · overplay · overcorrect · overstate · hypercorrection · exacerbate
Resistance to perceived attack
- inferiorityLower status or quality
- inadequacyState of being insufficient
- self-doubtUncertainty about oneself
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
anxiety · self-consciousness · neuroticism · fragility · jealousy · envy · sensitivity · timidity
Offsetting force or weight
- equilibriumState of balance
- offsetCompensate by opposing force
- redressCompensation for injury
- rebalanceRestore equal distribution
adjustment · correction · recalibration · overcorrection · disproportion · asymmetry · skew · tilt
Something that extends outward
- reaction-formationConverting impulses to opposites
- displacementRemoval from usual location
- sublimationSolid to gas directly
- rationalizationInventing acceptable motives afterward
denial · repression · coping · Freudian · unconscious · complex · neurosis · overachiever
overdo
Exceed reasonable limits
- overkillUnnecessary additional effort
- overreachExceed one's capacity
- overextendExceed one's limits
overshoot · overreact · exaggerate · overdrive · overplay · overcorrect · overstate · hypercorrection · exacerbate · overwork
defensiveness
Resistance to perceived attack
- inferiorityLower status or quality
- inadequacyState of being insufficient
- self-doubtUncertainty about oneself
vulnerability · anxiety · self-consciousness · neuroticism · fragility · jealousy · envy · sensitivity · timidity · ego
counterbalance
Offsetting force or weight
- equilibriumState of balance
- offsetCompensate by opposing force
- redressCompensation for injury
rebalance · adjustment · correction · recalibration · overcorrection · disproportion · asymmetry · skew · tilt · swing
projection
Something that extends outward
- reaction-formationConverting impulses to opposites
- displacementRemoval from usual location
- sublimationSolid to gas directly
rationalization · denial · repression · coping · Freudian · unconscious · complex · neurosis · overachiever · perfectionism
overcompensatesundercompensates
Pays insufficiently for work
balances · underreacts · falls short · neglects · ignores
overcompensate, overcompensated, overcompensation, overcompensating