misbehavior
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of misbehavior
Explanation
When you do something wrong or bad, that's misbehavior. If your little brother hides your homework, intentionally dumps his cereal on the floor, and draws on the walls with permanent marker, you might say he's an expert in misbehavior. Whether an activity is mere naughtiness or more significant misconduct, it all falls under the category of misbehavior. When a politician pays someone to stay quiet about his misbehavior, he's added additional misbehavior to the record. If you know that behavior means the way you act, it's easy to see what happens when you add the prefix mis-, meaning "bad".
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.
Now, think of that with gasoline — enough material for a master’s thesis in human misbehavior.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
But in a country with a long memory for royal misbehavior, the mark on his legacy is permanent.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
Some states are taking a different approach to misbehavior, saying that the answer is to bring in more consequences and give teachers more power to punish disruptive students.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026
There is an understanding that people will behave appropriately and that there are consequences for misbehavior.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025
Or he might have a deprivation order pending against him; in cases of outrageous misbehavior, a keeplock who was a “threat to security” could have his rec taken away for a day by a sergeant.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
