misappropriate
verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmi-sə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt 
misappropriated; misappropriating; misappropriates
: to appropriate wrongly (as by theft or embezzlement)
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
In 2016, on the verge of being caught for misappropriating millions from his celebrity NFL clients to finance terrible feature films, Blazer confessed his crimes to the federal government and explained how the underbelly of college sports really worked, in gruesome detail.
—
Guy Lawson, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025
The charter school acknowledged in March its wrongdoing and offered to pay back $13 million in state funds attributed to misappropriating attendance in the 2021-22 school year, according to ABC10.
—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 20 June 2025
The case was initiated by the current leadership of the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) against its former president, Randy Kanai, who is accused of misappropriating or failing to account for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the organization’s funds over several years at the helm.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 31 Mar. 2025
Days after an April whistleblower report alleged that DOGE misappropriated sensitive labor dispute data, DOGE staffers paid a visit to the Washington, D.C. office.
—Maria Gracia Santillana Linares, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misappropriate
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Guy Lawson, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025
The charter school acknowledged in March its wrongdoing and offered to pay back $13 million in state funds attributed to misappropriating attendance in the 2021-22 school year, according to ABC10.
—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 20 June 2025
The case was initiated by the current leadership of the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) against its former president, Randy Kanai, who is accused of misappropriating or failing to account for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the organization’s funds over several years at the helm.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 31 Mar. 2025
Days after an April whistleblower report alleged that DOGE misappropriated sensitive labor dispute data, DOGE staffers paid a visit to the Washington, D.C. office.
—Maria Gracia Santillana Linares, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misappropriate
Cite this Entry
“Misappropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misappropriate. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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)
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