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
The court also discovered that Shi misappropriated funds amounting to about $22 million for personal use for more than three months without repayment between 2012 and 2022, among other findings, the report added.
—
Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
The incident occurred shortly after Murdaugh had been pushed out of the law firm his family founded more than a century ago for misappropriating funds.
—Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 25 May 2026
The money was instead misappropriated for her own benefit, with significant sums of the fraud redirected to gambling expenses.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 20 May 2026
He was also accused of deceiving escrow agents to secure the release of pre-construction condominium deposits and then misappropriated those funds for personal expenses unrelated to the developments.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for misappropriate
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Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
The incident occurred shortly after Murdaugh had been pushed out of the law firm his family founded more than a century ago for misappropriating funds.
—Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 25 May 2026
The money was instead misappropriated for her own benefit, with significant sums of the fraud redirected to gambling expenses.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 20 May 2026
He was also accused of deceiving escrow agents to secure the release of pre-construction condominium deposits and then misappropriated those funds for personal expenses unrelated to the developments.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for misappropriate
Cite this Entry
“Misappropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misappropriate. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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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