overcorrection means the correction of something to an excessive degree, usually resulting in an error in the opposite direction. It carries an Arena rating of 1483, earned across 17 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, overcorrection ranks #828 of 13,217 for Most Elegant Words, #833 of 13,217 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,104 of 13,217 for Most Incisive Words, #2,291 of 13,217 for Most Malleable Words.
Why “overcorrection” is a great word
The act of correcting something to an excessive degree, resulting in a new error opposite the original. From the English prefix over- ("excessively") + correction ("the act of making right"). First attested in 1828. Unlike a neutral “adjustment” or a measured “compensation,” overcorrection is a lurch past the target into a fresh mistake. It is the driver who swerves from a ditch into the oncoming lane, the gardener who drowns a parched plant, or the thermostat cranked until the room is unbreathable—a testament to our clumsy, pendulum-swing attempts to set the world right, creating a new void where there was once a solid edge.
Etymology
From over- + correction.
noun
- The correction of something to an excessive degree, usually resulting in an error in the opposite direction.“The statement follows criticism that it depicted specific white figures (like the US Founding Fathers) or groups like Nazi-era German soldiers as people of color, possibly as an overcorrection to long-standing racial bias problems in AI.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.