hypercorrect

About 0.01 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. adjective Nonstandard because of a mistaken idea of standard usage.
2. verb To change (a word or phrase) to a nonstandard form, or to another option among a set of accepted alternative-form options, in the mistaken belief that the form used was wrong.
3. verb To correct excessively.

Similar words

uncorrect errorous hyperforeign ungrammatical alwrong heterographic pseudocorrect wonky incorrect improper

Often followed by

forms form pattern and grammar usage use pronunciation behavior

Word family

hypercorrection hypercorrections hypercorrectly hypercorrectness hypercorrectnesses