Word.ws English Dictionary

the cure is worse than the disease

the cure is worse than the disease 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.

Phrase

the cure is worse than the disease

  1. 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.
  2. (figuratively) 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.
    • Regarding the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act and other repeals of financial regulations, or even in legislating new financial regulations, you have to be careful that the cure is not worse than the disease.2014-06-11, Robert Johnson The Real News Network

the cure is worse than the disease meaning in Vietnamese

the cure is worse than the disease in Vietnamese

The solution to a problem produces a worse net result
chữa lợn lành thành lợn què

Origin of the cure is worse than the disease

From Latin aegrescit medendo (literally “it worsens with healing”) attributed to Virgil in book XII of the Aeneid.

Questions about the cure is worse than the disease

What does the cure is worse than the disease mean?
The cure is worse than the disease means 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.
What is the cure is worse than the disease in Vietnamese?
The cure is worse than the disease in Vietnamese is chữa lợn lành thành lợn què. See The cure is worse than the disease meaning in Vietnamese.
What part of speech is the cure is worse than the disease?
The cure is worse than the disease is a phrase.

Words near the cure is worse than the disease in the dictionary

  1. the cow knows not the worth of its tail till it loses it
  2. the cowl does not make the monk
  3. the craft
  4. the crap out of
  5. the cupboard is bare
  6. the cure is worse than the disease
  7. the curtain comes down
  8. the curtain falls
  9. the curtains match the drapes
  10. the customer is always right
  11. The Dalles

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the cure is worse than the disease (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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