Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To make something worse while attempting to make it better. n. A bad improvement.
Verboticisms
Click on each verboticism to read the sentences created by the Verbotomy writers, and to see your voting options...
You have two votes. Click on the words to read the details, then vote your favorite.
Incompattempt
Created by: tmcg5625
Pronunciation: in-comp-att-empt
Sentence: "But honey the car looks way cooler now. you cant tell the spoilers made of cardboard and the foil on the wheels make them look like chrome. classy" "I think so too sweetheart. next should get some personalized plates that say INCOMPATTEMPT!"
Etymology: Incompetent- "Duuhh?" Attempt-"yeah i'll give it a go."
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
great word - Jabberwocky, 2008-05-15: 11:48:00
like it - galwaywegian, 2008-05-15: 12:10:00
----------------------------
Adworsity
Created by: bookowl
Pronunciation: Ad/wurs/itee
Sentence: They suffered further adworsity when the contractor hung the windows upsidedown.
Etymology: add + worse + adversity
Oddify
Created by: rebelvin
Pronunciation: ODD+modIFY
Sentence: Instead of helping her appearance overall, her nose job only oddified her face, leaving you with a faint impression of disgust.
Etymology: ODD+modIFY
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Good one,Rebelvin. - Nosila, 2008-05-15: 01:52:00
----------------------------
Shedit
Created by: ZenoX
Pronunciation: shed it
Sentence: She went to a plastic surgeon the other day and shedited her nose. She was telling me all about that present she'll never afford now. Wait till she hears about her embarrassing shedit. She'll probably never admit her mistake.
Etymology: A shit edit, a change that should be hid in a dark place (shed).
Badderment
Created by: petaj
Pronunciation: bad-er-ment
Sentence: The government's social engineering activities were well intentioned but ended up for the badderment of all. It was really more like woeful engineering.
Etymology: bad + betterment
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Good one! - Mustang, 2008-05-15: 21:47:00
Oh, this word works nicely! Good job. - Tigger, 2008-05-15: 23:33:00
----------------------------
Malhancement
Created by: OZZIEBOB
Pronunciation: mal-HANS-ment
Sentence: The best laid plans of mice and men often end in malhancement.
Etymology: Combination of MAL:bad, badly, wrong,wrongly & HANCEMENT:to make greater,as in value, beauty, effectiveness; provide with improved features.
Badvancement
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: /bad-VANS-mehnt/
Sentence: It seems that each new elected politician is a badvancement on the last one. Although they promise improvement after improvement, and all sorts of advancements, things keep going from bad to worse.
Etymology: Bad - of poor or inferior quality; defective (of uncertain origin; meaning of "defective or inferior" first recorded around 1300 AD) + Advancement - a forward step; an improvement (from Old French, avancer "move forward")
Ruinstallation
Created by: scissorlips
Pronunciation: roo in stall a shun
Sentence: Everyone hopes that they are bettering themselves by working out, but it is often the case that the habit becomes a ruinstallation of muscles and inflexibility.
Etymology: ruin: a disintegration, either physical, moral, social, or economic. + installation: to equip something or someone
Incorrectify
Created by: stache
Pronunciation: ĭn'kə-rěk'tə-fī'
Sentence: "You can't polish a turd," Garvin said when David showed him how he had used accessories to incorrectify his '79 Ford Pinto.
Etymology: incur, to bring upon oneself, as in, to incur the ridicule of the public; rectify, verb form of rectum, part of the human anatomy often euphemized as a term of disparagement.
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
nice - Jabberwocky, 2008-05-15: 11:45:00
----------------------------
Unintendment
Created by: pieceof314
Pronunciation: un-intend-ment
Sentence: Horace had horrible headaches. He was getting rather desperate. He thought by cutting his head off, he would alleviate the problem. The one unintendment he didn't count on was death.
Etymology: un, not + intend, to direct one's attention towards
Comments:
Verbotomy - 2008-05-15: 00:01:00
Today's definition is inspired by author and philosopher, Mark Kingwell who I saw last night speaking about "Social Change". He reminded us that not all change is good change. And noted that in German they have word to describe such bad improvements -- Schlimmbesserung -- which we don't have in English. And so it's today's challenge. Thanks Mark! ~ James