misconduct
Americannoun
-
improper or wrong behavior.
Numerous accusations of sexual misconduct have blighted his campaign.
Her license was revoked for professional misconduct and poor professional performance.
- Synonyms:
- misstep, misdeed, misbehavior, wrongdoing
-
unlawful behavior by an official in regard to their office, or by a person in the administration of justice, such as a lawyer, witness, or juror; malfeasance.
A complaint was filed against the prosecutor, alleging misconduct in the case.
verb (used with object)
-
misconducts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
misconducted,
past participle, past
-
misconducting
present participle
-
to mismanage.
-
to misbehave (oneself ).
noun
verb
-
to conduct (oneself) in such a way
-
to manage (something) badly
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
misconductsimple
-
misconductssimple
-
have misconductedperfect
-
has misconductedperfect
-
am misconductingprogressive
-
are misconductingprogressive
-
is misconductingprogressive
-
have been misconductingperfect progressive
-
has been misconductingperfect progressive
Past
-
misconductedsimple
-
had misconductedperfect
-
was misconductingprogressive
-
were misconductingprogressive
-
had been misconductingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of misconduct
Explanation
Misconduct is any kind of bad, unethical, or illegal activity. When there's misconduct, someone is doing something wrong. Since conduct is behavior, misconduct is behavior that's not quite right: some kind of shady or criminal conduct. If an accountant cooked the books — lied about finances — that's misconduct. A police officer taking a bribe is guilty of misconduct. Often, misconduct specifically refers to someone who does improper things on behalf of someone else, like the misconduct of a dishonest lawyer.
Vocabulary lists containing misconduct
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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.
See Examples For:
They are considering language that bans relationships between lawmakers and staff, strengthens whistleblower protection, expands training and updates the misconduct reporting processes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Anne Donaghy is one of three people referred to prosecutors for consideration over alleged misconduct in public office at Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
This way, she explained, where there is "clear evidence of misconduct", the police can decide whether they dismiss an officer based on the evidence-led ombudsman investigation.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
County Superior Court, alleging he faced retaliation for speaking out about misconduct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Michael and I put a petition together that asserted all of these claims, including police and prosecutorial misconduct, and filed it in the Monroe County Circuit Court.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Neither front has seen much improvement for the Panthers, who took 14 penalties, including six misconducts and another for abuse of officials in the blowout loss.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
Vegas’ Chandler Stephenson and Jonathan Marchessault were assessed misconducts, along with Edmonton’s Kailer Yamamoto and Evander Kane earlier in the period.
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2023
“However,” she said, “the system that has allowed these misconducts remains.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2022
"I started skating towards him but I'm about 50 feet away from the guy. I'm getting misconducts for just talking now. Not quite sure what that's about. What are you going to do?"
From Fox News ● Oct. 29, 2021
Speaking of the Monroe Doctrine, he said, "We do not guarantee any state against punishment, if it misconducts itself."
From Theodore Roosevelt and His Times by Harold Howland
It would be quite impossible for any one present to have misconducted himself in the manner in which the holder of those letters, Mr. Reynolds, accuses you of having done.
From The Conqueror by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
In the first place, she is the daughter of people who flagrantly misconducted themselves--that apparently does her no harm.
From Lady Rose's Daughter by Mrs. Humphry Ward
The apparent insinuation that he had misconducted himself while on his parole of good behaviour, was one of the things he could least endure.
From Hair-Breadth Escapes The Adventures of Three Boys in South Africa by H.C. Adams
“Lady Ongar has never misconducted herself—” said Harry.
From The Claverings by Anthony Trollope
One of these was Trebonius, who had misconducted himself in Spain, and was smarting under the recollection of his own failures.
From Caesar: a Sketch by James Anthony Froude
If that's agreed, detectives will then look for evidence that the incident in question saw the suspect "wilfully" neglecting to perform their duty or wilfully misconducting themselves in some other way.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
Tilt, 31, pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to wilfully misconducting himself in public office.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2022
Tilt, of Barley Green, Birmingham, admitted wilfully misconducting himself in public office at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2022
Thus a lot of people are misconducting themselves like this, and would enjoy programming that makes them feel represented in the media.
From New York Times ● Nov. 29, 2017
While Isaac II. was in the midst of his Bulgarian war, and misconducting it with his usual fatuity, he was suddenly dethroned by a palace intrigue.
From The Byzantine Empire by Charles William Chadwick Oman
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.
