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

Some Buddhist temples in Thailand are extremely wealthy because worshippers donate large amounts as a way of making religious merit, and the country has seen cases of senior monks being accused of misappropriating temple funds. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026

The jury found that Joby owes Aerosonic more than $48 million for misappropriating trade secrets and more than $68 million for breaking a nondisclosure agreement. — Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

Meyer wound up allegedly misappropriating about $570,000, including $100,000 for a personal investment in an exotic-car company and $220,000 sent to his personal bank account. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026

The Yes campaign claims that the CEOs of some clinics are misappropriating taxpayer funds to inflate their own salaries, rather than putting the money toward patient care and clinic staffing. — Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 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