Miscalibrate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /mɪsˈkælɪbɹeɪt/

Definitions

1. To set or adjust equipment or instruments in an inaccurate way, causing errors in measurements or functions
2. To improperly configure a device or system's settings so that it does not operate as intended
3. To make an incorrect calibration on tools or instruments, leading to faulty or misleading results

Etymology: "Miscalibrate" is simply "mis-" attached to "calibrate," and its history lies almost entirely in the second half. The prefix "mis-" comes from Old English, where it meant "wrong" or "amiss," and it has been used freely in English to form new verbs ever since, so "miscalibrate" needed no special coinage to exist. The base word, "calibrate," traces back to the Latin "calibre," a term for the internal diameter of a gun barrel or the size of a projectile. English borrowed the noun in that sense, and "calibrate" followed as a verb meaning to measure or mark the graduations of an instrument. Because the sense was concrete and technical from the start, a word meaning "to set the scale of a tool wrongly" fits naturally into the same vocabulary of measurement.

Synonyms: misadjust, misalign, misconfigure

Antonyms: calibrate, adjust