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

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

The Board of Education, citing costs, gave Maes just a week to investigate the allegations against Hunter, a notably short timeline given that previous inquiries into alleged misbehavior by DPS directors have taken months. — Jessica Seaman, Denver Post, 8 Oct. 2026

Oversight measures are crucial for seeing how often agent misbehavior is detected by monitoring systems, the company said. — Kaitlyn Huamani, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026

Well, that’s a nod to a Southampton intern being spotted filming a Middlesbrough training session from behind a tree — the incident which sparked an investigation that revealed Southampton’s misbehavior. — ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misbehavior

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