misappropriate
verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmi-sə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt 
misappropriated; misappropriating; misappropriates
: to appropriate wrongly (as by theft or embezzlement)
Synonyms
Examples of misappropriate in a Sentence
They accused him of misappropriating town funds.
a financial manager misappropriating funds from her clients' accounts
Recent Examples on the Web
Redbox's remaining 24,000 kiosks will close, and 1,000 workers will be laid off (severance and back pay eligibility are under review, and a bankruptcy trustee will investigate if trust funds intended for employees were misappropriated).
—
Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 11 July 2024
Instead, prosecutors want to rebut Tom Girardi’s defense strategy of blaming the CFO by showing that Girardi was also misappropriating money to spend on his wife and her career.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2024
The complaints, which spanned 2009 to 2015, alleged that more than $4.5 billion in funds belonging to 1MDB were misappropriated by the senior officials at the organization and their associates, including Low.
—Karen K. Ho, ARTnews.com, 26 June 2024
He was accused of misappropriating state property, specifically several boulders from outside the State Police Negaunee post that were used to construct a retaining wall at his lakefront property.
—John Wisely, Detroit Free Press, 18 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for misappropriate 
Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 11 July 2024
Instead, prosecutors want to rebut Tom Girardi’s defense strategy of blaming the CFO by showing that Girardi was also misappropriating money to spend on his wife and her career.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2024
The complaints, which spanned 2009 to 2015, alleged that more than $4.5 billion in funds belonging to 1MDB were misappropriated by the senior officials at the organization and their associates, including Low.
—Karen K. Ho, ARTnews.com, 26 June 2024
He was accused of misappropriating state property, specifically several boulders from outside the State Police Negaunee post that were used to construct a retaining wall at his lakefront property.
—John Wisely, Detroit Free Press, 18 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for misappropriate
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misappropriate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near misappropriate
Cite this Entry
“Misappropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misappropriate. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
misappropriate
verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmis-ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt
: to appropriate wrongly
especially
: to take dishonestly for one's own use
Legal Definition
misappropriate
transitive verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmi-sə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt
: to appropriate wrongfully or unlawfully (as by theft or embezzlement)
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share