caco-, cac-, kako-, kak-
(Greek: bad, harsh, wrong, evil; incorrect; unpleasant; poor; used most of the time as a prefix)
cacohydrophobia
1. A fear of drinking or of being contaminated in some way with bad water.
2. An abnormal fear of sewer water.
cacolalia
The involuntary use of vulgar or obscene words, seen in some schizophrenics who play with words as though they were feces.
cacology
1. Bad speaking or pronunciation; bad diction.
2. Defectively produced speech; socially unacceptable diction.
3. A bad choice of words or incorrect pronunciation.
cacomelia
Congenital deformity of one or more limbs.
cacomorphosis
Having bad formation or shaping.
caconym, caconymy
1. An example of bad nomenclature or terminology; especially, in biology and botany.
2. The wrong name for something; especially, in the classification of plants and animals.
3. A name, especially a taxonomic name, that is considered linguistically undesirable.
cacopathy, cacopathia
1. A Hippocratic designation for a severe mental disorder.
2. An old term for a severe affliction or malady.
cacophemism
The substitution of an offensive term for one considered to be inoffensive (the antonym of euphemism).
cacophonic, cacophonia, cacophonical
Bad or terrible sounds.
cacophonophilist
Someone who likes to listen to harsh sounds.
cacophonous
1. Having a harsh or unpleasant sound.
2. Sounding loud, jarring, and unpleasant.
cacophony
1. The quality of having bad sounds; the use of harsh-sounding words or phrases; the opposite of euphony.
2. The use of harsh unpleasant sounds in language, e.g., for literary effect.
3. A discordant combination of sounds, dissonance; an unpleasant combination of loud, often jarring, sounds.
cacophoria
A generalized feeling of unhappiness.
cacophrenic
Having a mental illness.
cacoplastic, cacoplasia
1. Relating to or causing abnormal growth.
2. Incapable of normal or perfect formation.
3. Imperfectly organized, of imperfect structure.
Inter-related cross references, directly or indirectly, involving word units meaning "bad, wrong":
dys-;
mal-;
mis-;
pessim-;
sceler-.
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