The German word "verbessern" means "to make better".

The word "verschlimmern" means "to worsen".

The word "verschlimmbessern" means "to make worse by trying to make better".

Anyone ever trying to fix something and fucking it up badly will feel this one.

Enjoy our language!

#TheGermanWord

@jensclasen There's also the infamous "zerreparieren", which is created by prefixing "reparieren" ("to repair ") with "zer-", which is a prefix making verbs refer to something destructive.

/cc @veronica @PeterSommerlad