untune

Etymology

From un- + tune.

untune means to cause (something) to be out of tune; to make incapable of harmony, or of harmonious action. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 79 out of 100.

Why “untune” is a great word

UNTUNE — [Verb] To cause something to be out of tune, or to render it incapable of harmony or harmonious action. Formed within English from the prefix un- (expressing reversal or deprivation) and the noun tune. First recorded in use c. 1598. Unlike "detune," a precise and often intentional lowering of pitch, or "discompose," a disturbance of personal calm, to untune is to introduce a fundamental, often corrosive dissonance into any ordered system. It is the jarring note from a string slackened by dampness, the collective inharmony of an orchestra whose conductor has lost the beat, and the subtle discord that unravels a once-close friendship—a quiet testimony to how easily the fragile work of tuning frays, leaving everything slightly, irreparably, off-key.

verb

To cause (something) to be out of tune; to make incapable of harmony, or of harmonious action.“How could communities, […] / Prerogative of age, crowns, sceptres, laurels, / But by degree, stand in authentic place? / Take but degree away, untune that string, / And, hark, what discord follows!”