wrong

[rawng, rong]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wrong ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not in accordance with what is morally right or good: a wrong deed.

deviating from truth or fact; erroneous: a wrong answer.

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.

(of clothing) that should be worn or kept inward or under: You're wearing the sweater wrong side out.

noun

that which is wrong, or not in accordance with morality, goodness, or truth; evil: I committed many wrongs.

an injustice: The wrongs they suffered aged them.

Law.

an invasion of another's right, to his damage.
a tort.

adverb

in a wrong manner; not rightly; awry; amiss: You did it wrong again.

verb (used with object)

to do wrong to; treat unfairly or unjustly; harm.

to impute evil to (someone) unjustly; malign.

Idioms

get in wrong, Slang. to cause to come into disfavor: We are forever getting in wrong with the people next door.

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.

in the wrong, to blame; in error: He knew he was in the wrong but refused to concede the point.

Origin of wrong

before 1100; (adj.) Middle English wrong, wrang, Old English wrang, perhaps < Old Danish wrang; compare Danish vrang wrong, Old Norse rangr awry; (v. and adv.) Middle English, derivative of the adj.; (noun) Middle English; Old English wrang, derivative of the adj.; akin to wring

Related formswrong·er, nounwrong·ly, adverbwrong·ness, nounqua·si-wrong, adjective

Can be confusedwrong wrongful

Synonyms for wrong

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wrong ON THESAURUS.COM

1. bad, evil, wicked, sinful, immoral, iniquitous, reprehensible, crooked. 2. inaccurate, incorrect, false, untrue, mistaken. 6. improper, unsuitable. 8. misdoing, wickedness, sin, vice. 12. maltreat, abuse, oppress, cheat, defraud, dishonor.

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

Related Words for wrong

untrue, inaccurate, mistaken, unsound, bad, erroneous, awry, amiss, misguided, false, reprehensible, illegal, unlawful, unfair, sinful, unjust, unethical, incorrect, funny, unacceptable

Examples from the Web for wrong

Contemporary Examples of wrong

But Cosby Truthers are applying their principles to the wrong cause.
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers
Stereo Williams
January 8, 2015
Andy Serkis, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Do you want to be on the wrong side of history, Academy?
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’
Marlow Stern
January 6, 2015
Yes, publicizing tragedy gets clicks, gets ad revenue, gets notoriety, and can be done for all the wrong reasons.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism
Arthur Chu
January 3, 2015
The only great thing he did as governor was to insist that the death penalty was just wrong.
Mario Cuomo: An OK Governor, but a Far Better Person
Michael Tomasky
January 2, 2015
It would definitely be wrong for TLC to encourage us to gawk at these men but their story is worth investigating nonetheless.
Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism
Samantha Allen
January 1, 2015

Historical Examples of wrong

"Flattery to ourselves does not change the nature of what is wrong," answered Philothea.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Not contentment, but a lamentation and an ancient tale of wrong!
'Tis Sixty Years Since
Charles Francis Adams
Our mission is not punishment, but the rectification of wrong.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
On that foul throng that wrought them wrong—on Jury and on Judge!
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
One day she hit the shell in the wrong place--and they're still looking for the monkey.
Viviette
William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for wrong

wrong

adjective

not correct or truthfulthe wrong answer

acting or judging in erroryou are wrong to think that

(postpositive) immoral; badit is wrong to cheat

deviating from or unacceptable to correct or conventional laws, usage, etc

not intended or wantedthe wrong road

(postpositive) not working properly; amisssomething is wrong with the engine

US (of a side, esp of a fabric) intended to face the inside so as not to be seen

get on the wrong side of or US get in wrong with informal to come into disfavour with

go down the wrong way (of food) to pass into the windpipe instead of the gullet

adverb

in the wrong direction or manner

go wrong

to turn out other than intended
to make a mistake
(of a machine, etc) to cease to function properly
to go astray morally

get wrong

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 torta private wrong
a violation of public rights and duties, affecting the community as a whole and actionable at the instance of the Crowna public wrong

in the wrong mistaken or guilty

verb (tr)

to treat unjustly

to discredit, malign, or misrepresent

to seduce or violate

Derived Formswronger, nounwrongly, adverbwrongness, noun

Word Origin for wrong

Old English wrang injustice, from Old Norse vrang; see wring

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 wrong

adj.

late Old English, "twisted, crooked, wry," from Old Norse rangr, earlier *wrangr "crooked, wry, wrong," from Proto-Germanic *wrangaz (cf. Danish vrang "crooked, wrong," Middle Dutch wranc, Dutch wrang "sour, bitter," literally "that which distorts the mouth"), from PIE *wrengh- "to turn" (see wring).

Sense of "not right, bad, immoral, unjust" developed by c.1300. Wrong thus is etymologically a negative of right (from Latin rectus, literally "straight"). Latin pravus was literally "crooked," but most commonly "wrong, bad;" and other words for "crooked" also have meant "wrong" in Italian and Slavic. Cf. also French tort "wrong, injustice," from Latin tortus "twisted." Wrong-headed first recorded 1732. To get up on the wrong side (of the bed) "be in a bad mood" is recorded from 1801.

"that which is improper or unjust," c.1100, from wrong (adj.). Meaning "an unjust action" is recorded from c.1200.

"to do wrong to," early 14c., from wrong (adj.). Related: Wronged; wronging.

Idioms and Phrases with wrong

wrong

see back the wrong horse; bark up the wrong tree; do someone wrong; get someone wrong; get up on the wrong side of bed; go wrong; in the wrong; on the right (wrong) foot; on the right (wrong) tack; right (wrong) side of the tracks; rub the wrong way; take the wrong way; two wrongs do not make a right.