as in to disobey
to behave badly
scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of misbehave
Several educators have also told USA TODAY over the last few years that students misbehave in class more often since the onset of the pandemic.
—
Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2025
On Friday afternoon, Epic Games sent out an email seeking to reassure parents who may have come across the news about the misbehaving AI character.
—ArsTechnica, 16 May 2025
What if Charlie gets mixed up with misbehaving kids, not murderous adults?
—Alison Herman, Variety, 8 May 2025
This encounter really does feel like an adult lady college professor expressing her disappointment in a misbehaving undergrad.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2025
On Friday afternoon, Epic Games sent out an email seeking to reassure parents who may have come across the news about the misbehaving AI character.
—ArsTechnica, 16 May 2025
What if Charlie gets mixed up with misbehaving kids, not murderous adults?
—Alison Herman, Variety, 8 May 2025
This encounter really does feel like an adult lady college professor expressing her disappointment in a misbehaving undergrad.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misbehave
Verb
-
Thousands of people were arrested by the LAPD and other agencies for failure to disperse, disobeying a lawful order and other minor offenses following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but both the Los Angeles city attorney’s office and former Dist.—
Salvador Hernandez,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2025
-
Federal judges ruled Thursday that Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black residents when the state disobeyed court orders to draw a second Black-majority congressional district.—
Cheyanne M. Daniels,
The Hill,
9 May 2025
Verb
-
Wait, there’s a both-sides approach to the company and the workers rebelling against it?—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
25 June 2025
-
Newsweek Contributors Debate For decades, Iranians have organized, protested, and rebelled for greater freedom.—
Nuri Kino,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misbehave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbehave. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share