wrong

[ rawng, rong ]

/ rɔŋ, rɒŋ /

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See synonyms for: wrong / wronged / wrongest / wrongs 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR wrong

1 bad, evil, wicked, sinful, immoral, iniquitous, reprehensible; crooked.

2 inaccurate, incorrect, false, untrue, mistaken.

6 improper, unsuitable.

8 misdeed, immorality, wickedness, sin, vice.

12 maltreat, abuse, oppress, cheat, defraud, dishonor.

See synonyms for wrong on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about wrong

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

OTHER WORDS FROM wrong

wronger, nounwrongly, adverbwrongness, nounquasi-wrong, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wrong

wrong , wrongful

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wrong in a sentence

He knew of nothing better than that the wronged and the wronger would cease together.
There and Back|George MacDonald
Vaudemont felt as if he had wronged the wronger; he began to conquer even his dislike to Robert Beaufort.
Night and Morning, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Stockdale said that "Boccaccio" was "wronger" than Dumas, and that his people had warned him against the stories of this Italian.
Confessions of a Book-Lover|Maurice Francis Egan
His job, as Shakespeare puts it, is "to unmask falsehood and bring truth to light, to wrong the wronger till he render right."
The Armed Forces Officer|U. S. Department of Defense

"The wronger it is the better man the vicar will be afterwards," said Jimmy.
The Smuggler's Cave|George A. Birmingham

British Dictionary definitions for wrong

wrong

/ (rɒŋ) /

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 forms of wrong

wronger, 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

Other 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.

wrong

OTHER WORDS FOR wrong

Idioms about wrong

Origin of wrong

OTHER WORDS FROM wrong

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wrong

Words related to wrong

How to use wrong in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wrong

Derived forms of wrong

Word Origin for wrong

Other Idioms and Phrases with wrong