the cure is worse than the disease
Meanings
phrase
- The medical treatment for an illness produces a worse net result than the illness does (or threatens a non-negligible risk of doing so), especially via adverse effects.
- The solution or proposed solution to a problem produces a worse net result than the problem does (or threatens a non-negligible risk of doing so), especially via unintended consequences.
Word forms
Etymology
From Latin aegrescit medendo (literally “it worsens with healing”) attributed to Virgil in book XII of the Aeneid.
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