misappropriate

verb

mis·​ap·​pro·​pri·​ate ˌmi-sə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt 

misappropriated; misappropriating; misappropriates

transitive verb

: to appropriate wrongly (as by theft or embezzlement)

misappropriation

ˌmi-sə-ˌprō-prē-ˈā-shən 

noun

Synonyms of misappropriate

• steal

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

The 48-year-old daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte is accused of corruption, bribery, misappropriating millions in government funds and threatening to have the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, assassinated. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 9 July 2026

Following a federal investigation and an internal CBS probe, Davis was dismissed for misappropriating $94,000 from the label — money used in part to pay for his son’s bar mitzvah and family vacations. — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026

However, in May 1973, following a federal investigation and an internal CBS probe, he was summarily fired for misappropriating $94,000 from the label. — Chris Morris, Variety, 22 June 2026

The lawsuit, originally filed in September, accused OpenAI of misappropriating confidential information from departing xAI employees. — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 15 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for misappropriate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids 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

misappropriation

-ˌprō-prē-ˈā-shən 

noun

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)

misappropriation

-ˌprō-prē-ˈā-shən 

noun