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
- unwrongful adjective
- unwrongfully adverb
- unwrongfulness noun
- wrongfully adverb
- wrongfulness noun
Etymology
Origin of wrongful
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.
But in June, Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Baldoni's suit, saying his team had "not adequately alleged that Lively's threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions".
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Earlier this year, a Boston Trader Joe’s worker had their wrongful termination case dismissed by the National Labor Relations Board, with the board providing no other explanation than “lack of cooperation.”
From Salon • Mar. 13, 2026
Oponyo, the charity's chief executive, denied wrongdoing and sought damages for wrongful termination.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026
Perpétuo’s mother, Noemia Monique Carvalho, has filed a wrongful death suit against Lee seeking $50 million compensatory and punitive damages.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
In hundreds of other cases, falsely accused women never received the forensic help they needed to avoid wrongful convictions.
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.
