malfeasance

[ mal-fee-zuhns ]

/ mælˈfi zəns /

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noun Law.

the performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrary to law; wrongdoing (used especially of an act in violation of a public trust).Compare misfeasance (def. 2), nonfeasance.

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Origin of malfeasance

First recorded in 1660–70; earlier malefeasance.See male-, feasance

OTHER WORDS FROM malfeasance

mal·fea·sant, adjective, noun

Words nearby malfeasance

male-sterile, male-to-female, Malevich, malevolence, malevolent, malfeasance, malformation, malformed, malfunction, malgré lui, Malherbe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use malfeasance in a sentence

He’s a boxing trainer whose wife dies because of a pharmaceutical company’s greed and malfeasance—and because she has cancer.
From Stillwater to Sweet Girl, A New Crop of Movies Explores the Plight of Modern Dads|Belinda Luscombe|August 18, 2021|Time
Digital currencies will help governments fight malfeasance, smooth the transfer of assets across borders, and enable central banks to deal directly with citizens—especially helpful in times of crisis.
How China’s Digital Currency Could Challenge the Almighty Dollar|Charlie Campbell|August 11, 2021|Time
He seemed personally enraged by public malfeasance and corruption by public officials.
Edward T. Pound, tenacious ‘old-school’ investigative reporter, dies at 77|Matt Schudel|July 29, 2021|Washington Post
Its elections long have been flagged for malfeasance and misadministration.
New York's Mayoral Race Shows that Ranked Choice Voting Works—Even With Snafus|Kevin Kosar and Elayne Allen|July 10, 2021|Time

In this regard, the latest updates make it even more difficult for companies to get away with this type of malfeasance.
Marketers fret as Apple’s hardline stance on tracking gets firmer|Seb Joseph|June 10, 2021|Digiday
The commission has accused Yingluck of malfeasance in a rice-subsidy program aimed at improving the incomes of Thai rice farmers.
Thailand: Into the Void|Lennox Samuels|March 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The prime minister must appear before the anti-corruption commission on February 27 to answer the malfeasance charges.
Can Thailand’s Prime Minister Cling To Power?|Lennox Samuels|February 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Allegations of malfeasance against Raheen continue to surface.
Afghanistan’s Million Dollar Minister|Ron Moreau, Sami Yousafzai|September 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the weeklong trial, the Pittsburgh lawyer laid out the most devastating account of corporate malfeasance.
Laurence Leamer on Coal Baron Donald Blankenship’s Downfall|Laurence Leamer|May 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Arguably that question points to a much larger problem than Stapel's malfeasance.
How Social Scientists, and the Rest of Us, Got Seduced By a Good Story|Megan McArdle|April 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I never heard of any of them being removed for incompetency, dereliction of duty or malfeasance.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 5, 1920|Various
The knowledge of this added treachery hath come to me but recently; and this also was of Rizzo's malfeasance.
The Royal Pawn of Venice|Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull
Removals were made for neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, refusing to obey orders, and obstructing Reconstruction.
Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama|Walter L. Fleming
Don Nicholas de Ovando pleaded smoothly the Sovereign's most strict command which in any to disobey were plain malfeasance!
1492|Mary Johnston
At Sienna he learned that his house had been pillaged and burned and he himself had been accused of malfeasance in office.
Dante: "The Central Man of All the World"|John T. Slattery

British Dictionary definitions for malfeasance

malfeasance

/ (mælˈfiːzəns) /

noun

law the doing of a wrongful or illegal act, esp by a public officialCompare misfeasance, nonfeasance

Derived forms of malfeasance

malfeasant, noun, adjective

Word Origin for malfeasance

C17: from Old French mal faisant, from mal evil + faisant doing, from faire to do, from Latin facere

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

malfeasance

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Origin of malfeasance

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How to use malfeasance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for malfeasance

Derived forms of malfeasance

Word Origin for malfeasance