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

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

2

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

misbehaver noun

plural misbehavers

misbehavers in the classroom

Synonyms

• act out
• act up
• carry on

Examples of misbehave in a Sentence

scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early

Recent Examples on the Web

These have almost exclusively been in carefully contrived experiments that almost beg the AI to misbehave—for example, by asking it to pursue its goal at all costs. —Harry Booth, Time, 3 June 2025

Thankfully, the family lives right next door to Poppa's massive home — giving them somewhere to send their misbehaving kids. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2025

Zico Kolter has a knack for getting artificial intelligence to misbehave in interesting and important ways. —Will Knight, Wired News, 9 Apr. 2025

And thanks to the survey, conducted between October 22 and 28, pet parents might give a sigh of relief that their animal isn't the only one that misbehaves. —John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for misbehave

• aftershave
• architrave
• autoclave
• microwave
• agave
• behave
• concave
• conclave
• enclave
• engrave
• enslave
• forgave

Kids Definition

misbehave

verb

mis·​be·​have

ˌmis-bi-ˈhāv

: to behave in a wrong or improper manner

misbehavior

-ˈhā-vyər

noun