Misadjusting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of incorrectly modifying or setting something so it does not function properly
2. Performing an adjustment in a wrong or improper way that leads to a faulty configuration
3. Changing or calibrating something inaccurately, resulting in it not working as intended

Etymology: "Misadjusting" is the present participle of "misadjust", which is formed from the prefix "mis-", meaning wrongly or badly, attached to "adjust". "Adjust" itself comes from the Latin "adiustare", meaning to make right or fit, built from "ad-" (to) and "iustus" (just, right), the same root that gives "justice" and "just". So the core idea is making something fit or be right, and the prefix reverses that aim, producing a fitting done wrongly. The "mis-" prefix is one of English's most productive, attaching readily to verbs to mean wrongly or amiss, as in "misread", "mislead" and "misjudge". Because "adjust" was already well established, "misadjust" is a straightforward compound of the two, and its sense follows directly from its parts: an adjustment carried out incorrectly, so that the resulting setting or arrangement is faulty.

Synonyms: misaligning, misplacing