Overreward

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To provide compensation or recognition in excess of what is deserved or warranted, thereby giving more than what is appropriate; to grant an undue or disproportionately high reward beyond the expected value
2. To give a payment, prize, or acknowledgment that surpasses the fair or reasonable amount, resulting in an excessive or unfair benefit or advantage; to allocate more than the deserving share of praise or prize
3. To award or remunerate someone with a sum or acknowledgment greater than their contribution, merit, or entitlement, thus exceeding the normal or justified level of reward or recognition

Etymology: "Overreward" is about as transparent as English compounds get: the prefix "over-" (meaning excessively, beyond the proper measure) attached to "reward," so to overreward is to give more reward or payment than is due. The pattern is productive, following the same logic as "overpay," "overcharge," and "overvalue," where the prefix simply signals excess in the action of the base verb. The base word "reward" has its own story. It comes from Anglo-Norman and Old French "reward" or "rewarde," a noun meaning regard or consideration, which passed into English in the late Middle Ages. The sense of "something given in return for service" developed from that older idea of looking back on or taking account of what someone has done.

Synonyms: overcompensate, overpay, excessively reward

Antonyms: underreward, underpay, deprive