Medical Dictionary

compensation

noun com·pen·sa·tion \ˌkäm-pən-ˈsā-shən, -ˌpen-\

Medical Definition of COMPENSATION

1
:  correction of an organic defect by excessive development or by increased functioning of another organ or unimpaired parts of the same organ <cardiac compensation>—see decompensation
2
:  a psychological mechanism by which feelings of inferiority, frustration, or failure in one field are counterbalanced by achievement in another
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