misbegotten

adjective

mis·​be·​got·​ten ˌmis-bi-ˈgä-tᵊn How to pronounce misbegotten (audio)
1
dated : unlawfully conceived : born to parents not married to each other
a misbegotten child
2
a
: having a disreputable or improper origin : ill-conceived
antiquated and misbegotten tax lawsR. M. Blough
b
: contemptible
a misbegotten scoundrel
c
: deformed
The road brought you to a desert place among ruins, where was a door in a hillside, and hard by the door a misbegotten pine.Robert Louis Stevenson

Did you know?

In the beginning, there was begietan, and begietan begot beyeten; then in the days of Middle English beyeten begot begeten. All of the Old English and Middle English ancestors above basically meant the same thing as the modern beget—that is, "to father" or "to produce as an effect or outgrowth." That linguistic line with the prefix mis- (meaning "wrongly" or "badly") brought forth misbegotten.

Examples of misbegotten in a Sentence

a misbegotten child who never knew his father
Recent Examples on the Web Several directors before Villeneuve tried anyway: There was David Lynch’s misbegotten 1985 fiasco and a forgettable 2000 TV miniseries. Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Feb. 2024 But the misbegotten search for original intentions has been in disfavor since Justice Antonin Scalia’s powerful critique of intentionalism. Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 The letter was drafted partially in response to what some viewed as a misbegotten effort by George Clooney and other A-listers to help SAG-AFTRA move negotiations along, according to strike captain Kate Bond. Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2023 Washington’s current approach is encouraging Israel to launch a profoundly misbegotten war, promising protection from its consequences by deterring others from entering the battle and by blocking any efforts at imposing accountability through international law. Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 14 Oct. 2023 Polls suggest that serial scandals under one of Mr. Sunak’s predecessors, Boris Johnson, and the misbegotten tax policies of another, Liz Truss, have lingered in voters’ minds. Mark Landler, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2023 In July, Goldman reported a collapse in profits, the result of a misbegotten foray into consumer banking that the firm is unwinding. Rob Copeland, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2023 Boris Johnson made a misbegotten attempt at camping in the Scottish Highlands, attracting flak for pitching a tent in a farmer’s field without permission and leaving behind trash. Mark Landler, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2023 Facebook’s misbegotten transformation into Meta wasn’t much better, though at least Zuckerberg didn’t torch his own social platform in the process — Facebook is called Facebook. Brian Merchant, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misbegotten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1546, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of misbegotten was in 1546

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Dictionary Entries Near misbegotten

Cite this Entry

“Misbegotten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misbegotten. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

misbegotten

adjective
mis·​be·​got·​ten ˌmis-bi-ˈgät-ᵊn How to pronounce misbegotten (audio)
1
2
: wrongfully or improperly created

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