misbecome

American  

[mis-bi-kuhm] / ˌmɪs bɪˈkʌm /

verb (used with object)

misbecame, misbecome, misbecoming

1. to be unsuitable, unbecoming, or unfit for.

---

misbecome British  

/ ˌmɪsbɪˈkʌm /

verb

1. (tr) to be unbecoming to or unsuitable for

---

Etymology

Origin of misbecome

First recorded in 1520–30; mis- ¹ + become

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

misbecome misbecame misbecoming

At forty she would not misbecome the marble.

From Woman in the Ninteenth Century and Kindred Papers Relating to the Sphere, Condition and Duties, of Woman. by Fuller, Margaret

On my head I place a sedately feathered bonnet, which would not have misbecome mother.

From Nancy by Broughton, Rhoda

There was a juryman there, a father with many daughters, who thought that it might not misbecome him to put forward such a prayer himself.

From The Vicar of Bullhampton by Trollope, Anthony

See all men else discharg'd; And since old debts are clear'd by a new way, A little bounty will not misbecome me.

From The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 4, April 1810 by Carpenter, S. C. (Stephen Cullen)

Slight regard, contempt, And anything that may not misbecome The mighty sender, doth he prize you at.

From King Henry V by Shakespeare, William

But having acquired it she discovered herself to be too tall and too broad for it, so that it misbecame her mightily.

From The Great Captain: A Story of the Days of Sir Walter Raleigh by Tynan, Katharine

Thou didst what deed that misbecame thy life?

From The Seven Plays in English Verse by Sophocles

So the heart of the Marquis was hardened, and he was strengthened to do that which misbecame him both as a gentleman and a landlord.

From The Vicar of Bullhampton by Trollope, Anthony

Nought misbecoming to thyself or sire Doest thou or speak’st, befriending a good man.

From The Seven Plays in English Verse by Sophocles

Is there any thing misbecoming or ungentle about me?

From The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter by Burnaby, William

For to have apologized to every one had been too servile and misbecoming the dignity of his person; whereas equally to have neglected every one had been an act of insolence and imprudence.

From Complete Works of Plutarch — Volume 3: Essays and Miscellanies by Plutarch

There is something misbecoming a man in the bloom of youth, and labouring under no natural disadvantages and infirmities, in the subsisting in any manner upon the bounty of another.

From Italian Letters, Vols. I and II The History of the Count de St. Julian by Godwin, William

“Stop your grog, indeed!” said Remarkable, rising with great indignation, and seizing a candle; “you’re groggy now, Benjamin and I’ll quit the room before I hear any misbecoming words from you.”

From The Pioneers by Cooper, James Fenimore