misrule

[mis-rool]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR misrule ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

bad or unwise rule; misgovernment.

disorder or lawlessness.

verb (used with object), mis·ruled, mis·rul·ing.

to misgovern.

Origin of misrule

1300–50; Middle English misreulen (v.), misreule (noun). See mis-¹, rule

Related formsmis·rul·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for misrule

Contemporary Examples of misrule

A decade ago, Afghans were exhausted by years of war and misrule.
The U.S. and Pakistan: Can This Marriage Be Saved?
Ron Moreau
April 3, 2012

Historical Examples of misrule

Anarchy and misrule must be displayed in their most glaring colors.
The Daltons, Volume II (of II)
Charles James Lever
To abolish the superstition, the misrule, the vice, the misery of this world.
Daily Thoughts
Charles Kingsley
The heart may grow in vice, and the passions expand in misrule.
Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women
George Sumner Weaver
What followed is, happily, unique in the history of English misrule.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3
Various
At first she was not noticed, so great was the noise and misrule.
Where Deep Seas Moan
E. Gallienne-Robin

British Dictionary definitions for misrule

misrule

verb

(tr) to govern inefficiently or without humanity or justice

noun

inefficient or inhumane government

disorder

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for misrule

late 14c., "bad government of a state;" see mis- (1) + rule (n.). Meaning "disorderly conduct or living" is from c.1400, obsolete except in Lord of Misrule, one chosen to preside over Christmas games in a great house (late 15c.).

late 14c., from mis- (1) + rule (v.). Related: Misruled; misruling.