Need a word/phrase/proverb for this situation

Question

The situation when an action is taken to make something better it turns out to more be actually more damaging than healing?

Answered at Expression for intending to help but instead making things worse. — Edwin Ashworth, Mar 06 '17 at 00:58
That will do! I think I missed out on searching more accurately — Shad, Mar 06 '17 at 12:17
Also related: ‘Expression that means something like “killing the sheep to keep them from being kidnapped”’ — MetaEd, Mar 06 '17 at 18:28

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 05 '17 at 16:27

2

"Throwing the baby out with the bathwater." While disposing of waste,(the dirty water) you inadvertently got rid of something valuable (the baby).

answered Mar 05 '17 at 16:27

Oldbag

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 05 '17 at 20:52

1

make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse.

-ODO

edited Mar 05 '17 at 20:52

answered Mar 05 '17 at 16:15

Troy Cooper

Please do not copy and paste an answer without attribution. – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Mar 05 '17 at 20:53

michaelmross · Answer 3 · 2017-03-06T16:58:14.277

-1

"Unintended consequences" - your action/intention had an unexpected, less desirable result

"Backfired" - your action/intention created a worse result

"Made matters worse" - your action/intention had a negative effect

edited Mar 06 '17 at 16:58

answered Mar 05 '17 at 16:56

michaelmross

3

You should include an explanation of why these phrases are good choices; otherwise the answer is not complete. – herisson Mar 05 '17 at 21:02

3 Answers3