misbehave

verb

mis·​be·​have ˌmis-bi-ˈhāv 

-bē-

misbehaved; misbehaving

1

a

transitive : to conduct (oneself) badly or improperly

students who frequently misbehave themselves in class

b

intransitive : to behave with poor manners or a lack of courtesy

He worried about the decline of family discipline, about the fact that local youth went out walking after dark, wasted time in levity, misbehaved in church.

—Tracy Kidder

c

intransitive : to behave with disregard for accepted moral standards especially in sexual matters

known for misbehaving with numerous women

d

intransitive of a member of the armed forces : to behave before or in the presence of the enemy in a way that does not conform to military standards or practice

… has been charged with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy …

—Dan Lamothe

2

intransitive : to behave in an unexpected or unwelcome way

After five floods in four years, people in Liberty County are used to seeing the Trinity River misbehave.

—Adam Nossiter

misbehaver noun

plural misbehavers

misbehavers in the classroom

Synonyms

• act out
• act up
• carry on

Examples of misbehave in a Sentence

scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early

Recent Examples on the Web

Don’t lower your standards or expectations because others misbehave. —Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024

There’s little incentive to refrain from misbehaving in an environment that tolerates bad behavior, said Lewis Morris, who was chief counsel to HHS’ Office of Inspector General from 2002 to 2012. —Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 13 Nov. 2024

While the Mark Taper Forum, Pasadena Playhouse and the Geffen Playhouse fretted about the taste of their least adventurous subscribers, Rogue Machine reminded us that theater is most alive when misbehaving. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024

By 2018, the speaker was looking forward to Democrat Pritzker besting Rauner, struggling to get past the #MeToo scandals of misbehaving aides, and allegedly hooking up Zalewski and Ochoa with ComEd while greenlighting the utility to kill his daughter’s bill. —Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 6 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

misbehave

verb

mis·​be·​have

ˌmis-bi-ˈhāv

: to behave in a wrong or improper manner

misbehavior

-ˈhā-vyər

noun