misconduct

noun

mis·​con·​duct ˌmis-ˈkän-(ˌ)dəkt 

1

: mismanagement especially of governmental or military responsibilities

2

: intentional wrongdoing

specifically : deliberate violation of a law or standard especially by a government official : malfeasance

3

a

: improper behavior

b

: adultery

4

: a penalty (as in ice hockey) for improper behavior or abusive language (as toward an official)

misconduct

ˌmis-kən-ˈdəkt 

transitive verb

Synonyms

• wrongdoing

Examples of misconduct in a Sentence

He was forced to defend himself against charges of sexual misconduct.

There have been reports of misconduct by several employees.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kirkpatrick’s successor, LeRonne Armstrong, served until 2023, when then-Mayor Sheng Thao fired him over a misconduct scandal involving the Oakland Police Department’s internal disciplinary process. —Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025

Shockley's current attorneys have been fighting for DNA testing of the evidence in the case that wasn't available in 2005 and argue that a mistrial should have been declared over misconduct by the jury foreperson, who showed off his book about a revenge killing to fellow jurors. —Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025

Crevier got a 10-minute misconduct for going after Guhle. —Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025

Drouin was called for game misconduct and given a five-minute major penalty. —Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

misconduct

noun

mis·​con·​duct (ˈ)mis-ˈkän-(ˌ)dəkt 

1

: bad management

2

: improper or unlawful behavior

misconduct

ˌmis-kən-ˈdəkt 

verb

Legal Definition

misconduct

noun

mis·​con·​duct mis-ˈkän-dəkt 

: intentional or wanton wrongful but usually not criminal behavior: as

a

: deliberate or wanton violation of standards of conduct by a government official

b

: wrongful behavior (as adultery) by a spouse that leads to the dissolution of the marriage

c

: an attorney's violation of the standards set for professional conduct

also : an attorney's and especially a prosecutor's use of deceptive or reprehensible methods in presenting a case to a jury

d

: impermissible behavior by a juror (as communicating about the case with outsiders, witnesses, or others, reading or hearing news reports about the case, or independently introducing evidence to other jurors)

e

: an employee's deliberate or wanton disregard of an employer's interests or disregard or violation of the employer's standards or rules that is sufficient to justify a denial of unemployment compensation