wrong
Americanadjective
-
not in accordance with what is morally right or good.
a wrong deed.
- Synonyms:
- crooked, reprehensible, iniquitous, immoral, sinful, wicked, evil, bad
-
deviating from truth or fact; erroneous.
a wrong answer.
- Synonyms:
- mistaken, untrue, false, incorrect, inaccurate
-
not correct in action, judgment, opinion, method, etc., as a person; in error.
You are wrong to blame him.
-
not proper or usual; not in accordance with requirements or recommended practice.
the wrong way to hold a golf club.
-
out of order; awry; amiss.
Something is wrong with the machine.
-
not suitable or appropriate.
He always says the wrong thing.
- Synonyms:
- unsuitable, improper
-
(of clothing) that should be worn or kept inward or under.
You're wearing the sweater wrong side out.
noun
-
wrongs
plural
-
that which is wrong, or not in accordance with morality, goodness, or truth; evil.
I committed many wrongs.
- Synonyms:
- vice, sin, wickedness, immorality, misdeed
-
an injustice.
The wrongs they suffered aged them.
-
Law.
-
an invasion of another's right, to his damage.
-
a tort.
-
adverb
verb (used with object)
-
wrongs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wronged,
past participle, past
-
wronging
present participle
idioms
-
go wrong,
-
to go amiss; fail.
Everything is going wrong today.
-
to pursue an immoral course; become depraved.
Bad friends caused him to go wrong.
-
-
get in wrong, to cause to come into disfavor.
We are forever getting in wrong with the people next door.
-
in the wrong, to blame; in error.
He knew he was in the wrong but refused to concede the point.
adjective
-
not correct or truthful
the wrong answer
-
acting or judging in error
you are wrong to think that
-
(postpositive) immoral; bad
it is wrong to cheat
-
deviating from or unacceptable to correct or conventional laws, usage, etc
-
not intended or wanted
the wrong road
-
(postpositive) not working properly; amiss
something is wrong with the engine
-
(of a side, esp of a fabric) intended to face the inside so as not to be seen
-
informal to come into disfavour with
-
(of food) to pass into the windpipe instead of the gullet
adverb
-
in the wrong direction or manner
-
-
to turn out other than intended
-
to make a mistake
-
(of a machine, etc) to cease to function properly
-
to go astray morally
-
-
-
to fail to understand properly
-
to fail to provide the correct answer to
-
noun
-
a bad, immoral, or unjust thing or action
-
law
-
an infringement of another person's rights, rendering the offender liable to a civil action, as for breach of contract or tort
a private wrong
-
a violation of public rights and duties, affecting the community as a whole and actionable at the instance of the Crown
a public wrong
-
-
mistaken or guilty
verb
-
to treat unjustly
-
to discredit, malign, or misrepresent
-
to seduce or violate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wrongsimple
-
wrongssimple
-
have wrongedperfect
-
has wrongedperfect
-
am wrongingprogressive
-
are wrongingprogressive
-
is wrongingprogressive
-
have been wrongingperfect progressive
-
has been wrongingperfect progressive
Past
-
wrongedsimple
-
had wrongedperfect
-
was wrongingprogressive
-
were wrongingprogressive
-
had been wrongingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wrong
First recorded before 1100; (adjective) Middle English wrong, wrang, Old English wrang, perhaps from Old Danish wrang; compare Danish vrang “wrong,” Old Norse rangr “awry”; (verb and adverb) Middle English, derivative of the adjective; (noun) Middle English; Old English wrang, derivative of adjective; akin to wring
Explanation
Use the adjective wrong to talk about something that is factually incorrect. You thought your paper was due a week from Friday, but you were wrong. It's due tomorrow. Better start typing! You can use the word wrong to describe something that deviates from your moral principles. You might believe that the death penalty is just wrong, but not everyone agrees with you. The adjective wrong can also describe something that is inappropriate for a certain purpose. It's frustrating to get all the way home from the store before you realize you grabbed the wrong kind of milk — buttermilk instead of two percent.
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:
So when something goes wrong, it's easy to spot where.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Listen to everyone around you, look into restaurants and shops, take the wrong street, stop somewhere because it looks interesting,” says Nader, a West Village stalwart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Where Neko Health really has a financial window is for the people who are increasingly, perpetually scared of something going wrong before it does.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
Or rather, I was wrong about what the network can be useful for.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
In the long run, the Localizers will turn out to be somewhat right about localization but completely wrong about phrenological organs.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
The palace said Charles had worked to acknowledge "the wrongs of the past" and "right inequalities that endure", and on this trip would "renew his personal, wholehearted and continuing commitment to that process".
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
“That is not how a justice system is supposed to work. Our country needs more brave leaders like David Huerta to stand up for the wrongs they see around them.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Bryant said he hoped the work would help "right some wrongs" that affected not just eel numbers but also salmon and trout in rivers.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Time will tell whether this proves to be helpful for the vindication of wrongs from years ago and creation of stable relations in years to come.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
Right from his coma, he helped the four of us make wrongs right.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
Peter Moody's daughter Joanne Moody, 48, who is expected to join other families wronged by Bush in the court's public gallery, said: "It's broke me, it's crucified me. He has shown no remorse. No sympathy."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
But I’ve no doubt that, like me, many people found comfort in the story’s resolute belief in humankind’s capacity for grace even after someone has greatly wronged us.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
They commit full-throatedly to playing out Misraje’s vision of a Hollywood haunted by the dreamers it’s wronged and the secrets it’s plastered over.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
You can love this book, as I do; you can relate to her story, as I do; we can be sisters in a common cause for a woman wronged, as I am.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
It’s something she can savor and control, this feeling of having been wronged by the world.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Examples of alleged wronging by the district include:
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
Qatar, shielded from the economic impact by its $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, denied wronging its neighbours and held out until the dispute was resolved this January.
From Reuters ● Sep. 8, 2021
This may be one reason your roommates could tell themselves that they weren’t wronging you.
From New York Times ● Aug. 24, 2021
He has denied wronging, and the trial is scheduled to start in May.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2020
But he knowing their errand told them it was not they who were wronging him.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
