Verschlimmbessern

Meaning: To make something worse in a well-intentioned attempt to improve it.

Language: German

Literally: to make-worse-better

Category: Everyday

Origin: German verschlimmern ('to worsen') + verbessern ('to improve'); one of the language's most useful compound verbs.

More untranslatable words — Everyday

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Waldeinsamkeit — The serene, faintly mystical feeling of being alone in the woods, at peace with nature.
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Schadenfreude — The guilty little pleasure of taking satisfaction in someone else's misfortune.
Fernweh — An aching longing for far-off places you've never been — the opposite of homesickness.
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