disservice
verb
- cause a harmful action
noun
- a harmful action
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /dɪ(s)ˈsɜːvɪs/ / /dɪ(s)ˈsɝvɪs/
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Latin dis- Old French des-bor. Latin dis-bor. Middle English dis- English dis- English service English disservice From dis- + service.
- Service that results in harm; an (intentionally or unintentionally) unhelpful, harmful action.
“One renders young people a disservice by heaping unearned rewards on them.”
“Often schools of music focus solely on the canon of Western classical art music, but this is a disservice to music educators who will have to deal with students from many different backgrounds and preferences.”
verb
Etymology: Etymology tree Latin dis- Old French des-bor. Latin dis-bor. Middle English dis- English dis- English service English disservice From dis- + service.
- To disserve, to provide a disservice to; to provide harmful or inadequate service to.
“One librarian said, "I could double the circulation tomorrow by closing the periodical stacks and counting every time I handed out a magazine, but I would be disservicing our readers."”