Verboticism: Modifail

'Honey, you just ran a red light!'

DEFINITION: v. To unintentionally encourage bad behavior by responding to it in a manner that incites even worse behavior. n. A response designed to stop bad behavior, which paradoxically produces more of it.

Create | Read

Voted For: Modifail

Successfully added your vote for "Modifail".

You still have one vote left...

Baboozle

Created by: melodydrama

Pronunciation: Bah-boo-zle

Sentence: The comment meant to hurry her husband along was a sad baboozle, he only walked slower and they missed their appointment.

Etymology: Baboon+bamboozle

| Comments and Points

Reverbirate

Created by: Mustang

Pronunciation: re-VERB-eye-rayt

Sentence: It seemed that whenever Cindy would try to motivate her husband, Charlie, to behave more civilly, her words would only reverbirate in some dark corner of his psyche and have the opposite effect with him responding in even more outrageous manner.

Etymology: blend of 'reverberate' (echo) and 'irate' (angry)

| Comments and Points

Exacerbloop

Created by: OZZIEBOB

Pronunciation: Eks-asz-SUR-bloop

Sentence: When Bob tried to smooth things over with a few words of "wisdom", he quickly found out that many an embarassing moment wouldn't be so embarassing if it only lasted a moment. The daftermath of his exacerblooper and exacerblooping, lead to a hellishing harangue from Roxie that lasted an hour.

Etymology: Blend of EXACERBate & BLOOP/er: an embarassing, silly, verbal error, usually during a serious moment.

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

great sentence - Jabberwocky, 2008-05-20: 15:32:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Modifail

Created by: Stevenson0

Pronunciation: mod/i/fail

Sentence: As a teacher, I sometimes modifail when a student over reacts in a negative way to an attempted behaviour modifcation causing even further trouble in class.

Etymology: modify + fail

| Comments and Points

Dissuascalation

petaj

Created by: petaj

Pronunciation: dis-sway-sca-lay-shun

Sentence: Bobby, just ignore your brother. You know that when you tell him not to swear he just tells you to f&*$ #$%&&% )!!@^&$$. I know you mean well, but it's just a dissuascalation.

Etymology: dissuasion (discouragement) + escalation (increase, especially in the case of military escalation where every action is responded to with greater force)

| Comments and Points

Tranquilose

Created by: Rutilus

Pronunciation: tran-kwi-looz

Sentence: However hard Peggy tried to pacify Ivan's ire she only ever seem to tranquilose him and in the process make him even more uptight. She was getting tired of this relationship and wanted out!

Etymology: tranquilise - to pacify; lose - to be defeated (in purpose)

| Comments and Points

Misscipline

Created by: bookowl

Pronunciation: miss/i/plin

Sentence: Missipline is the result of misplaced discipline.

Etymology: discipline + miss

| Comments and Points

Naggravate

Created by: Tigger

Pronunciation: /NAG-ruh-veyt/

Sentence: Matt was normally an aggressive driver — he practiced 'offensive driving' rather than 'defensive driving' — and when his passengers complained it would only naggravate the situation. Unfortunately, Matt's girlfriend, Mona, still hadn't learned this, and their roadtrips would turn into white-knuckled rollercoaster rides of reckless driving and near accidents, which only grew worse as Mona's screams intensified.

Etymology: Nag - to annoy by persistent faultfinding, complaints, or demands (from Old Norse, gnaga "to complain") + Aggravate - to make worse or more severe; intensify; irritate (from Latin, aggravāre "to burden")

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

Good word!! - TJayzz, 2008-05-20: 11:28:00

good word. love Mona. - galwaywegian, 2008-05-20: 10:28:00

Was her name Mona Lott? Good Word - Nosila, 2008-05-20: 22:40:00

Yes, it was! Do you know her too? - Tigger, 2008-05-21: 00:30:00

Good word - OZZIEBOB, 2008-05-22: 01:20:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Reverbirate

Created by: Mustang

Pronunciation: re - VERB - ihr - ate

Sentence: It seemed that whenever Consuelo would try to motivate her husband, Javier, to behave more civilly, her words would only reverbirate in some dark corner of his psyche and have the opposite effect with him responding in even more outrageous manner.

Etymology: blend of reverberate and irate

| Comments and Points

Wrecktify

Created by: galwaywegian

Pronunciation: rek tifff eye

Sentence: Herhigh pitched complaints only managed to wrectify the situation, as she put her foot on the imaginery brake.

Etymology: rectify wreck.

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

wreckscellent word! - Nosila, 2008-05-20: 22:37:00

Nice word. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-05-22: 01:21:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Show All or More...