misreform means A reform that ends up making things worse. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
misreform is pronounced /ˈmɪsɹəfɔː(ɹ)m/.
Why “misreform” is a great word
MISREFORM — [Noun, Verb] A reform that worsens the state of affairs it intended to improve, or the act of enacting such a reform. From the prefix mis- ("badly, wrongly") + reform ("to amend or improve"). Unlike "antireform," which denotes opposition to change itself, or "counter-reform," which is a reactive correction, misreform is the melancholy fruit of good intentions and poor foresight. It is the freshly paved road that floods the village, the streamlined policy that chokes the people it meant to liberate, and the gleaming new casing that fails before the sturdy wood it replaced—a testament that the surest path to deterioration is often paved with plans for improvement.
Etymology
From mis- + reform.
noun
- A reform that ends up making things worse.“... whether the party's determination to say that it is going to " abolish the eleven-plus " examination is merely to be a slogan about gradual changes in selection methods, or whether it will herald a serious attempt at educational misreform.”
verb
- To make a misreform; to reform badly or in error.“And more then this he foysteth in to his translation the worde necessarie in steed of flagitare videntur, And thus like a bungling botcher he patcheth togither those vncertainties of Cassander to make himselfe and others a deceitfull safegarde of greater comfort and benefit for the soule which he erroneously supposeth rather to be in his misreformed faith them in the Romish.”