malfeasance

noun

mal·​fea·​sance ˌmal-ˈfē-zᵊn(t)s 

: wrongdoing or misconduct especially by a public official

The investigation has uncovered evidence of corporate malfeasance.

Synonyms

• misbehavior
• misconduct
• misdoing
• wrongdoing

Examples of malfeasance in a Sentence

The investigation has uncovered evidence of corporate malfeasance.

a campaign to impeach the governor for malfeasance in office

Recent Examples on the Web

The new executive team comes a month after Kassan parted ways with UTA in a bitter, public dispute in which each side accused the other of malfeasance. —Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024

Thus begins a 20-year saga, one of baffling malfeasance by the British Post Office that led to widespread suffering, with hundreds of people falsely accused of crimes. —Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024

The very cynicism Rose is peddling from under his all-white Reds hat is partially a product of his own malfeasance. —Corbin Smith, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2024

In recent years, Near Intelligence has been wracked by scandal and previously filed for bankruptcy amid claims of internal malfeasance. —Lucas Ropek / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024

For a generation, Southeast Los Angeles County has been synonymous with political malfeasance. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024

Risk Management The biggest downside to Hong Kong’s embrace of digital assets is that the nascent industry remains highly susceptible to malfeasance. —Zennon Kapron, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024

Andrew Wheeler, an Ascension Parish, La., sheriff's deputy, was arrested and charged with one count of introduction of contraband into a penal facility and malfeasance in office after admitting during an interview to sneaking contraband into a jail. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 6 Feb. 2024

Ahead of the midterm elections in 2022, groups on platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp and Truth Social engaged in a hunt for election fraud, winning points or honorary titles for producing supposed evidence of voter malfeasance. —Tiffany Hsu, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

mal- + obsolete feasance doing, execution

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

malfeasance

noun

mal·​fea·​sance (ˈ)mal-ˈfēz-ᵊn(t)s 

: wrongful conduct especially by a public official

Legal Definition

malfeasance

noun

mal·​fea·​sance ˌmal-ˈfēz-ᵊns 

: the commission (as by a public official) of a wrongful or unlawful act involving or affecting the performance of one's duties compare misfeasance, nonfeasance

Etymology

mal- bad + obsolete English feasance doing, execution, from Old French faisance, from fais-, stem of faire to make, do, from Latin facere