mismanage
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
mismanages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mismanaged,
past participle, past
-
mismanaging
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
mismanagesimple
-
mismanagessimple
-
have mismanagedperfect
-
has mismanagedperfect
-
am mismanagingprogressive
-
are mismanagingprogressive
-
is mismanagingprogressive
-
have been mismanagingperfect progressive
-
has been mismanagingperfect progressive
Past
-
mismanagedsimple
-
had mismanagedperfect
-
was mismanagingprogressive
-
were mismanagingprogressive
-
had been mismanagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mismanage
Explanation
To mismanage is to handle something badly. A company will go bankrupt if its leaders mismanage it. If you mismanage your allowance, you’ll be out of money in no time. To manage is to handle or run something, so to mismanage is to make a mess of something you're doing or running. A general manager could mismanage a basketball team by trading away good players. The President can mismanage the country by making political and economic mistakes. You can mismanage your time if you goof off and don't get your work done. To mismanage is to mishandle.
Vocabulary lists containing mismanage
mis-
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
mis-
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
mis-
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Yann Leriche, chief executive of Eurotunnel's owner Getlink, said the change was something the business "cannot mismanage", with problems "not an option".
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2023
“We didn’t have any money to mismanage, because we didn’t have any money,” Spence said of the JFK8 campaign.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2022
As he approaches a likely third term in power that would start next year, it could be politically damaging if his government were to mismanage Evergrande.
From New York Times ● Sep. 26, 2021
I didn't mismanage our health care system.I didn't invent the housing crisis.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2020
And I am not going to stand by silently while you mismanage these sacred funds the way you have chosen to do in recent months.
From The Great Gray Plague by Raymond F. Jones
Reporting from The New York Times has highlighted the way that the jail complex mismanages the stationing of its nearly 8,000 uniformed staff members, with some rarely interacting with detainees at all.
From New York Times ● May 9, 2022
Wired’s investigation is a deep dive that demonstrates how your data can be at risk if a massive company mismanages internal access to it or carelessly leaves it open to outsiders.
From The Verge ● Nov. 19, 2021
"It’s not uncommon that a conservator mismanages money and profits off of that," Kaplan said.
From Fox News ● Oct. 1, 2021
I am afraid she mismanages her affairs sadly.
From Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
The man who manages his neighbor's affairs mismanages his own.
From The Sowers by Henry Seton Merriman
For most of the 20th century, the federal government managed, and frequently mismanaged, the energy resources on tribal trust lands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
"Prime Minister Anthony Albanese put her in this process. But it has been mismanaged by Sussan Ley."
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026
Organizers wanted to dedicate the money to a specific cause so it wasn’t mismanaged.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Reached by telephone, Marino declined to comment on the letter or the mismanaged director’s search.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2025
But that casino, mismanaged and too far away from major highways, was a money-losing business.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
The group were were being punished for "mismanaging" the battery exchanges for Spiro motorbikes, which they denied.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Adam Wyden’s hedge fund, ADW Capital, also accuses Driven’s majority owner, private-equity firm Roark Capital, of mismanaging the business in the letter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
Local representatives for years have blasted the Fish and Wildlife Department for mismanaging black bears and demanded the agency mitigate what they describe as a public safety threat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2025
In a country where at least one in two citizens are in poverty according to multiple measures, Weah faces accusations of mismanaging government funds.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2023
For weeks before Garfield's death, medical journals and general newspapers had accused Bliss of mismanaging his care.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
