mismanage

verb

mis·​man·​age ˌmis-ˈma-nij 

mismanaged; mismanaging

transitive verb

: to manage (something) wrongly or poorly

mismanage a business

… started thinking that maybe employees are sometimes mismanaged because they let themselves be mismanaged. They don't fight back.

—A. J. Anderson

… even those professional Pollyannas who publicly find reason to praise the current municipal administration shake their heads in private and wonder how long we can go on deliberately mismanaging our affairs.

—Brendan Gill

mismanagement

ˌmis-ˈma-nij-mənt 

noun

plural mismanagements

financial mismanagement of the company

Synonyms of mismanage

• misconduct
• damage
• violate
• mishandle
• misgovern
• abuse

Examples of mismanage in a Sentence

the business was mismanaged so seriously that it eventually had to declare bankruptcy

Recent Examples on the Web

Nevertheless, in lieu of that art turning into a mismanaged eyesore, the feasibility of care should be at the top of your considerations. —Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2026

His attorneys had argued that Florida corrections officials had mismanaged its own death penalty protocols. —Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026

The Florida Supreme Court recently denied appeals in which Trotter’s attorneys argued officials had mismanaged his death penalty protocols. —David Fischer, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026

But given the agency’s track record of withholding information, mismanaging funds and failing to comply with audit recommendations, assurances alone are not enough. —J.b. Jennings, Baltimore Sun, 22 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mismanage

• manage
• tannage

Kids Definition

mismanage

verb

mis·​man·​age

(ˈ)mis-ˈman-ij

: to manage badly or improperly

mismanagement

-mənt

noun