as in stealing
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
a financial manager misappropriating funds from her clients' accounts
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Recent Examples of misappropriating
Knox was charged with three felony counts of embezzlement and three felony counts of misappropriating public money, officials said.
—
Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026
Amy Knox, the former chief operating officer of Harm Reduction-SD, was charged with three felony counts of misappropriating public money and three felony counts of embezzlement.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Judge Paul Richardson sentenced Meagan Emily McFadden to 180 days in the Yolo County Jail for a felony conviction of misappropriating public money.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026
Over a decades-long period, Jacobus managed legitimate investment portfolios while misappropriating the money for his own use and to pay back earlier investors as if the payments were their returns, according to prosecutors.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2026
In his closing, Scott admitted to writing and mailing the letters, but argued that authorities cannot prove Morales Reyes' identity, and therefore he should not be found guilty of misappropriating his identity.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 29 Jan. 2026
But although the robbery is a roaring success, the Tailor makes a fateful visit to Vittorio, who has been gradually slipping into corruption by misappropriating church funds.
—Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
The organization’s former president, Jimmy West, in 2018 pleaded guilty to felony theft after misappropriating Tucson Pride funds throughout 2017.
—Sarah Lapidus, AZCentral.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Hancock said that even as much of the misinformation online still comes through more traditional avenues, such as people misappropriating real media to paint false narratives, AI is rapidly dumping more fuel on the fire.
—Angela Yang, NBC news, 9 Jan. 2026
Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026
Amy Knox, the former chief operating officer of Harm Reduction-SD, was charged with three felony counts of misappropriating public money and three felony counts of embezzlement.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Judge Paul Richardson sentenced Meagan Emily McFadden to 180 days in the Yolo County Jail for a felony conviction of misappropriating public money.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026
Over a decades-long period, Jacobus managed legitimate investment portfolios while misappropriating the money for his own use and to pay back earlier investors as if the payments were their returns, according to prosecutors.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2026
In his closing, Scott admitted to writing and mailing the letters, but argued that authorities cannot prove Morales Reyes' identity, and therefore he should not be found guilty of misappropriating his identity.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 29 Jan. 2026
But although the robbery is a roaring success, the Tailor makes a fateful visit to Vittorio, who has been gradually slipping into corruption by misappropriating church funds.
—Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
The organization’s former president, Jimmy West, in 2018 pleaded guilty to felony theft after misappropriating Tucson Pride funds throughout 2017.
—Sarah Lapidus, AZCentral.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Hancock said that even as much of the misinformation online still comes through more traditional avenues, such as people misappropriating real media to paint false narratives, AI is rapidly dumping more fuel on the fire.
—Angela Yang, NBC news, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misappropriating
stealing
Verb
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Since first taking place in the 1940s, cloud seeding experiments have raised concern over potential environmental and ecological risks and stoked regional security tensions, with countries accusing each other of stealing rain.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
24 Feb. 2026
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On June 16, 1986, Langford was selling some of the last of her inventory when a crack addict named Melvin Trotter walked into Langford's Grocery Store and started stealing from the cash register.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misappropriating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misappropriating. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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