misbehave

[ mis-bi-heyv ]
See synonyms for: misbehavemisbehavedmisbehaving on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),mis·be·haved, mis·be·hav·ing.
  1. to behave badly or improperly: The children misbehaved during our visit.

verb (used with object),mis·be·haved, mis·be·hav·ing.
  1. to conduct (oneself) without regard for good manners or accepted moral standards: Several of the guests misbehaved themselves.

Origin of misbehave

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

Other words from misbehave

  • mis·be·hav·er, noun

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

How to use misbehave in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for misbehave

misbehave

/ (ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪv) /


verb
  1. to behave (oneself) badly

Derived forms of misbehave

  • misbehaver, noun
  • misbehaviour (ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪvjə), noun

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