misbehavior

noun

mis·​be·​hav·​ior ˌmis-bi-ˈhā-vyər 

-bē-

plural misbehaviors

1

: bad, improper, or rude behavior : ill conduct

scolded the children for their misbehavior

2

US military law : any conduct by a member of the armed forces before or in the presence of the enemy that does not conform to military standards or practice for such a situation

… is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, the latter of which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

—The Boston Herald

Synonyms of misbehavior

• misconduct
• wrongdoing

Examples of misbehavior in a Sentence

would not tolerate any misbehavior from her students

Recent Examples on the Web

Oversight measures are crucial for seeing how often agent misbehavior is detected by monitoring systems, the company said. — Kaitlyn Huamani, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026

Well, that’s a nod to a Southampton intern being spotted filming a Middlesbrough training session from behind a tree — the incident which sparked an investigation that revealed Southampton’s misbehavior. — ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026

OpenAI said its new framework for divulging model misbehavior to the public starts with disclosure, and that any employee can flag an issue for the safety and alignment team to investigate. — Isabel O'Brien,ashley Capoot, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026

As a result, the consequences for their misbehavior must be immediate. — Cynthia Hanson, Parents, 13 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misbehavior

• misbehaviour
• behavior
• behaviour
• havior
• savior
• saviour