misbehave
verb
mis·be·have
ˌmis-bi-ˈhāv 
-bē-
misbehaved; misbehaving
1
a
transitive
: to conduct (oneself) badly or improperly
students who frequently misbehave themselves in class
b
intransitive
: to behave with poor manners or a lack of courtesy
He worried about the decline of family discipline, about the fact that local youth went out walking after dark, wasted time in levity, misbehaved in church.—
Tracy Kidder
Tracy Kidder
c
intransitive
: to behave with disregard for accepted moral standards especially in sexual matters
known for misbehaving with numerous women
d
intransitive
of a member of the armed forces
: to behave before or in the presence of the enemy in a way that does not conform to military standards or practice
… has been charged with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy …—Dan Lamothe
Dan Lamothe2
intransitive
: to behave in an unexpected or unwelcome way
After five floods in four years, people in Liberty County are used to seeing the Trinity River misbehave.—Adam Nossiter
Adam Nossiter
misbehaver
noun
plural misbehavers
misbehavers in the classroom
Examples of misbehave in a Sentence
scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early
Recent Examples on the Web
The actual cause is still under investigation, but one plausible theory contends that misbehaving teen-agers may in fact have been involved.
—Dana Goodyear, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
The classic book series revolves a misbehaving class whose teacher is mysteriously absent from school one day.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 22 Sep. 2025
According to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, dogs that suddenly bolt are often acting on instinct rather than misbehaving.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
Instances of models misbehaving—for example, strategically underperforming to ensure they are deployed, or hacking coding tests—dropped by about 30x for OpenAI’s o3 and o4-mini models across the researchers’ test scenarios.
—Tharin Pillay, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
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Dana Goodyear, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
The classic book series revolves a misbehaving class whose teacher is mysteriously absent from school one day.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 22 Sep. 2025
According to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, dogs that suddenly bolt are often acting on instinct rather than misbehaving.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
Instances of models misbehaving—for example, strategically underperforming to ensure they are deployed, or hacking coding tests—dropped by about 30x for OpenAI’s o3 and o4-mini models across the researchers’ test scenarios.
—Tharin Pillay, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Cite this Entry
“Misbehave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misbehave. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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