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
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.
“She was a good mom and loved her girls,” said Coplen, who filed a lawsuit against Sage Psychiatry and Blough alleging wrongful death.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
In a wrongful termination case, for example, an employer might have only been on the hook for 100 days of back pay if the case is resolved in the employee’s favor before.
From Salon • Mar. 13, 2026
The handyman initially filed the lawsuit in 2023, alleging unsafe working conditions, unpaid wages and wrongful termination.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
Oponyo, the charity's chief executive, denied wrongdoing and sought damages for wrongful termination.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026
They had been whispering about Walter's wrongful conviction for years.
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.
