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:
Karim Fawaz, executive director at S&P Global Energy, warned in the analysis that “Inventories are low, spare refining capacity is scarce, and seasonal demand is about to strengthen at exactly the wrong moment.”
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
But no, this turns out to be wrong because very often people who are very vulnerable, very low income just can’t make it through the ordeal.
From Slate ● Sep. 19, 2026
Tuchel refuted assertions his decision to recall Palmer and Alexander-Arnold was an admission he'd got his World Cup squad wrong.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Those who try to predict the trend of interest rates on average are wrong more than they’re right.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
I want to tell her that she’s got it wrong, that it’s not like that, but I’m not sure it’s true.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Smith quit the ASA around the same time, demoralized by what he saw as a lack of self-awareness among his colleagues, whose work focused on the world’s wrongs while failing to recognize their own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
But Ryerse, 51, and others in the Democratic Christian pushback say they are ready to right wrongs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 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
But he concluded: "Two wrongs do not make a right, they never do. This was a determined, persistent, highly dangerous pursuit."
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
I was working toward nothing less than the righting of wrongs, turning evil to good, and stopping the craziness that was steadily and surely taking over my valley.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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
Police Chief Cameron Paul fired back in his own video, saying people who believe they have been wronged financially aren’t exempt from laws against “harassment, trespassing, stalking, or other conduct.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
What I’ve found is that no one is right, and everyone feels wronged no matter what.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
He’s deeply remorseful about how he wronged family, friends and colleagues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
He acted like he was the one who’d been wronged.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
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.
