misapplication

noun

mis·​ap·​pli·​ca·​tion ˌmis-ˌa-plə-ˈkā-shən 

plural misapplications

1

: the act or an instance of applying something incorrectly or improperly

a misapplication of the law

herbicide misapplication

2

: the act or an instance of misusing or spending something (such as public money) without proper authority

… a bank president was convicted of misapplication after he programmed the bank's computer not to debit his personal checking account when it would otherwise have been overdrawn.

—Stanley S. Arkin

Synonyms

• misuse
• abuse

Examples of misapplication in a Sentence

this silly gossiping is a serious misapplication of your time

Recent Examples on the Web

What Gauguin despised was the misapplication of religion, not religion itself. —Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 11 July 2025

There have been, however, criticisms of the TCPA arising not so much from the text of the statute itself but rather from misapplications of the TCPA by the lower Texas courts. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025

Coming back to the implications of the Supreme Court verdict, regulatory agencies will now be able to have more effective rulemaking without the constant shadow of cascading lawsuits that are predicated on a misapplication of the precautionary principle. —Saleem H. Ali, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025

The Importance Of Proper Legal Analysis Some recent discussions that have speculated on the Pope's potential U.S. tax obligations, seem to have a misunderstanding or misapplication of the relevant legal frameworks. —Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 17 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misapplication

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration