misconduct

noun

mis·​con·​duct ˌmis-ˈkän-(ˌ)dəkt 

1

: mismanagement especially of governmental or military responsibilities

2

: intentional wrongdoing

specifically : deliberate violation of a law or standard especially by a government official : malfeasance

3

a

: improper behavior

b

: adultery

4

: a penalty (as in ice hockey) for improper behavior or abusive language (as toward an official)

misconduct

ˌmis-kən-ˈdəkt 

transitive verb

Synonyms

• wrongdoing

Examples of misconduct in a Sentence

He was forced to defend himself against charges of sexual misconduct.

There have been reports of misconduct by several employees.

Recent Examples on the Web

Lawsuits over deaths and injuries in county jails and allegations of excessive force and other misconduct involving sheriff’s personnel led to almost $95 million in payouts, or 60% of the total. —Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025

Trump has also sought to remake independent agencies including by firing Fed official Lisa Cook over alleged misconduct and the only two Democratic commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 29 Sep. 2025

Nelson and Mormon leaders defended the system, saying it was designed to protect children, not conceal misconduct. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025

The Journal Sentinel also reported that Coggs-Jones was investigated for allegations of misconduct in public office and filing false campaign finance reports. —Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 27 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

misconduct

noun

mis·​con·​duct (ˈ)mis-ˈkän-(ˌ)dəkt 

1

: bad management

2

: improper or unlawful behavior

misconduct

ˌmis-kən-ˈdəkt 

verb

Legal Definition

misconduct

noun

mis·​con·​duct mis-ˈkän-dəkt 

: intentional or wanton wrongful but usually not criminal behavior: as

a

: deliberate or wanton violation of standards of conduct by a government official

b

: wrongful behavior (as adultery) by a spouse that leads to the dissolution of the marriage

c

: an attorney's violation of the standards set for professional conduct

also : an attorney's and especially a prosecutor's use of deceptive or reprehensible methods in presenting a case to a jury

d

: impermissible behavior by a juror (as communicating about the case with outsiders, witnesses, or others, reading or hearing news reports about the case, or independently introducing evidence to other jurors)

e

: an employee's deliberate or wanton disregard of an employer's interests or disregard or violation of the employer's standards or rules that is sufficient to justify a denial of unemployment compensation