wrongful
Americanadjective
-
unjust or unfair.
a wrongful act; a wrongful charge.
-
having no legal right; unlawful.
The court ruled it was a wrongful diversion of trust income.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wrongful
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at wrong, -ful
Explanation
If something's not fair, or especially if it's illegal, you can call it wrongful. If a company violates an employee's contract and fires her, that would be a wrongful termination. This adjective is mainly used in a legal context. Being arrested when there's no evidence is a wrongful arrest, and if you're found guilty of a crime you didn't commit, that would be a wrongful conviction. We've used this word since the 14th century to mean "not fair" or "unjust." It derives from an Old English word meaning "crooked or twisted."
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.
He sued the station's owner ARN Media for wrongful termination and sought to recoup A$85m.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
This is how disparate-impact analysis should work as well, the OLC says, as a tool to find wrongful intent.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
A jury on Wednesday awarded their parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, and their surviving brother $176 million in wrongful death and emotional distress damages after an eight-week civil trial.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
JPMorgan Chase was ordered to pay former wealth manager Brent Ryan Bodner $4.25 million in a wrongful termination case.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
As he was the person most in charge of Walter's wrongful prosecution and conviction, it was hard to reconcile his immunity with his culpability in the whole affair, but there was little we could do.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
