Synonyms

misbehave

American

[mis-bi-heyv] / ˌmɪs bɪˈheɪv /

verb (used without object)

misbehaved, misbehaving

to behave badly or improperly.

The children misbehaved during our visit.

verb (used with object)

misbehaved, misbehaving

to conduct (oneself ) without regard for good manners or accepted moral standards.

Several of the guests misbehaved themselves.

misbehave British

/ ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪvjə, ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪv /

verb

to behave (oneself) badly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

misbehaver noun
misbehaviour noun

Etymology

Origin of misbehave

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; mis- ¹, behave

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Prodigy City is located in what was formerly Thailand, where the series was filmed, giving every character, human and otherwise, plenty of space to hide and misbehave.

From Salon • Aug. 5, 2025

When government lawyers misbehave, federal judges must be more assertive in the exercise of their powers as members of the judicial branch and as integral players in disciplinary mechanisms of the legal profession.

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2025

This was hard yakka in hot sun on an unresponsive pitch with a ball less likely to misbehave than a child on Christmas Eve.

From BBC • Jul. 19, 2024

And when large language models do misbehave or go off the rails, nobody can really explain why.

From New York Times • May 21, 2024

It was risky to misbehave even a little bit, since our teacher was quite willing to tell our parents.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023