misalign

verb

mis·​align ˌmis-ə-ˈlīn 

misaligned; misaligning

transitive + intransitive

: to align badly or incorrectly

… the rear coach loosened an axle crossing a rough switch frog, misaligning the wheels so that they came off the track and bumped along the ties …

—Terry Pindell

Even minor movement can cause the cords in the wireless charger to misalign and the charging to stop.

—Rishabh Jain

misaligned

ˌmis-ə-ˈlīnd 

adjective

… the lack of stereopsis results from conflicting input reaching the brain from the two misaligned eyes …

—Susan R. Barry

Worn wheels, defective axles, … and misaligned rails, as well as human error, also cause derailments.

—Ralph Vartabedian

Examples of misalign in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, as long as an investment is not blatantly misaligned with your circumstances, it may be considered acceptable under the law, even if other superior alternatives exist. —True Tamplin, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

For too long, HHS has been bloated, redundant, and misaligned with the real needs of the American people. —Ryan Long, National Review, 28 Mar. 2025

Audit committee responsibility usually misaligns director skills to these issues and also marginalizes these complex issues to the primary financial reporting responsibility and busy agenda of the audit committee, relegating AI and cybersecurity to an audit committee afterthought. —Bob Zukis, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025

The rapid dismantling of USAID and the government-wide assault on DEI have sent clear signals that any programs misaligned with Trump's MAGA will be on the chopping block. —Zachary Basu, Axios, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for misalign

• acridine
• alkaline
• andesine
• anodyne
• anticline
• arginine
• asinine
• atropine
• benzidine
• borderline
• byzantine
• calamine