misbehavior

noun

mis·​be·​hav·​ior ˌmis-bi-ˈhā-vyər 

-bē-

plural misbehaviors

1

: bad, improper, or rude behavior : ill conduct

scolded the children for their misbehavior

2

US military law : any conduct by a member of the armed forces before or in the presence of the enemy that does not conform to military standards or practice for such a situation

… is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, the latter of which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

—The Boston Herald

Synonyms of misbehavior

• misconduct
• wrongdoing

Examples of misbehavior in a Sentence

would not tolerate any misbehavior from her students

Recent Examples on the Web

Advertisement The news lands as existing ways for spotting AI misbehavior have begun to break down. — Harry Booth, Time, 5 Nov. 2026

CrowdStrike believes its new tool will let companies stop AI agent 'misbehavior in its tracks, while leaving room for innovation. — Samantha Subin, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026

OpenAI said its agents disabled parts of an internal misbehavior monitoring system, intensifying worries of AI acting in malign ways. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2026

Over the past decade, school districts across Texas have sought to make classrooms safer by swelling the number of police officers on campuses and taking a tougher stance on misbehavior. — Kristian Hernández, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misbehavior

• misbehaviour
• behavior
• behaviour
• havior
• savior
• saviour