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 of misconduct

• 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

Darvish argues that the case points to a departmental culture of covering up allegations of misconduct. —Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

Prosecutors have a way of avoiding any real consequences for misconduct. —John O’Hara, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026

New Britain Democrats released a scathing report last week that charged a pattern of misconduct and favoritism by the tax collector in a case that has been referred to prosecutors. —Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026

The House Ethics Committee found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of wrongdoing on 25 out of 27 ethics violations over financial misconduct last month, and was set to hold a sanctions hearing against her on Tuesday afternoon. —Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 21 Apr. 2026

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