misbehavior

American  

[mis-bi-heyv-yer] / ˌmɪs bɪˈheɪv yər /

especially British, misbehaviour

noun

1. improper, inappropriate, or bad behavior.

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Etymology

Origin of misbehavior

First recorded in 1480–90; mis- ¹ + behavior

Explanation

When you do something wrong or bad, that's misbehavior. If your little brother hides your homework, intentionally dumps his cereal on the floor, and draws on the walls with permanent marker, you might say he's an expert in misbehavior. Whether an activity is mere naughtiness or more significant misconduct, it all falls under the category of misbehavior. When a politician pays someone to stay quiet about his misbehavior, he's added additional misbehavior to the record. If you know that behavior means the way you act, it's easy to see what happens when you add the prefix mis-, meaning "bad".

Example Sentences

Some states are taking a different approach to misbehavior, saying that the answer is to bring in more consequences and give teachers more power to punish disruptive students.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

Then the pandemic hit, and as kids navigated tough situations at home, isolation, more screen time and school closures, misbehavior got worse.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

It’s foolish to think Turkish misbehavior would be limited to these countries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

It wasn’t just the extent of Baldoni’s alleged misbehavior that upset her—it was the feeling that she herself had done wrong by supporting him.

From Slate • Jan. 17, 2025

It said what Jaden was talking about before, how current resident sentences would all go full term from now on, and in some cases they could even be extended for consistent misbehavior.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña

Related Words

• immorality
• impropriety
• insubordination
• misconduct
• misdeed
• transgression
• wrongdoing