misalign

American  

[mis-uh-lahyn] / ˌmɪs əˈlaɪn /

verb (used with object)

1. to adjust or align improperly or badly: Too often we misalign our actions with our values.

   Stiff back muscles can pull and misalign vertebrae.

   Too often we misalign our actions with our values.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become improperly or badly aligned; fall out of line or position.

   I see how the system sometimes misaligns and causes unintended problems.

Other Word Forms

• misalignment noun

Etymology

Origin of misalign

First recorded in 1905–10; mis- ¹ ( def. ) + align ( def. )

Example Sentences

The government must fund this research directly, just as it has historically funded cryptography, semiconductor security and other dual-use technologies for which market incentives misalign with defense needs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025

To test its abilities, they cut the film in half, causing the layers to misalign.

From Scientific American • Jul. 26, 2023

What if I misalign my “female urinary device” and send urine streaming all over my shoes and floor mat a few minutes before my next interview?

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2020

This happens via a process where parts of the genome that are highly identical accidentally misalign, resulting in different deletions or even duplications of the genomic DNA.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2018

If you get thrown off by one and systematically misalign the subsequent sentences, you’ll get junk data.

From Slate • May 11, 2012