as in to disobey
to behave badly
scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early
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Recent Examples of misbehave
Experts advise against confronting misbehaving guests directly and instead recommend contacting hotel management.
—
Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
This can lead to stress, perfectionist tendencies, and feeling not good enough when the other sibs inevitably misbehave.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
Lawrence is hoping fans of both teams treat it as a special sporting event and do not misbehave.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
If an agent misbehaves or is compromised, identity becomes the kill switch.
—Kevin Bocek, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
This can lead to stress, perfectionist tendencies, and feeling not good enough when the other sibs inevitably misbehave.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
Lawrence is hoping fans of both teams treat it as a special sporting event and do not misbehave.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
If an agent misbehaves or is compromised, identity becomes the kill switch.
—Kevin Bocek, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misbehave
Verb
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The fact that on this occasion senior officers chose a very light touch, preserving still-new representative institutions while not directly disobeying a direct presidential order, is extraordinary – and deserves far more comment and commendation than has been received.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Jan. 2026
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But when Torre walked off the mound, first baseman Tino Martinez looked at Weathers and told him to disobey his manager.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The end of the prohibition came earlier than originally planned as a group of moderate Republicans rebelled against leadership in September, winning a concession to shorten the length of the pause by two months.—
Jared Gans,
The Hill,
22 Jan. 2026
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Certainly heroic for repeatedly rebelling against a murderous regime armed to the teeth.—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misbehave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbehave. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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