Overcorrections

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or process of making excessive adjustments or amendments in response to an error or issue
2. A tendency to address a mistake by implementing changes that are more extreme than necessary
3. Modifications applied in an attempt to rectify a situation, where the adjustments often exceed the initial requirement

Etymology: "Overcorrections" is the plural of "overcorrection", and the word is a transparent compound: "over-" meaning excessively or beyond the proper amount, joined to "correction", a noun from the Latin "correctio", a setting right. Put together, the parts describe exactly what the word names, a correction that overshoots the target and swings too far in the opposite direction. The "over-" prefix is ancient in English and productive, attaching to countless verbs and nouns to signal excess, as in "overeat" or "overcook". Pairing it with "correction" was a natural step once "correction" had become a standard English noun for putting something right, whether an error in text or a fault in behaviour. The result is a term that needs no special history to be understood, which is why it works so well in discussions of policy, editing and social reform.

Synonyms: excessive corrections, overrevisions