misalliance

noun

mis·​al·​li·​ance ˌmi-sə-ˈlī-ən(t)s 

1

: an improper alliance

2

: a marriage between persons unsuited to each other

Examples of misalliance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His exit was not considered a failure, but rather an unfortunate misalliance. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 2 Sep. 2026

Farber set the tragedy in a bleak Scottish no man’s land, where a mournful cello underscores a doleful marital misalliance. — Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2021

Ultimately, Malinowski concludes, the relationship between nobles and Nazis was a misalliance in which attraction prevailed over repulsion. — Christopher R. Browning, The New York Review of Books, 15 June 2021

Word History

Etymology

modification of French mésalliance

First Known Use

1738, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misalliance

• dalliance