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
Lilian was about to say something—like how odd that an arm could wake up one morning and decide to misbehave—but Tina held up a finger.
—
Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025
As a formal statement of disapproval, censure is about the worst punishment for a misbehaving House member short of removing them from office.
—Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
Leave it to Ben Stiller, the man who’s heading up the very practical production of Severance, to star in a bit about getting stuck on a misbehaving lift on the stage floor to point out the need for precision in production design.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
Scientists say it’s being caused by a misbehaving polar vortex combining with a key weather pattern that seems to be stuck in place.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025
As a formal statement of disapproval, censure is about the worst punishment for a misbehaving House member short of removing them from office.
—Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
Leave it to Ben Stiller, the man who’s heading up the very practical production of Severance, to star in a bit about getting stuck on a misbehaving lift on the stage floor to point out the need for precision in production design.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
Scientists say it’s being caused by a misbehaving polar vortex combining with a key weather pattern that seems to be stuck in place.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misbehave
Verb
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Boasberg earlier this week found probable cause that the Trump administration committed criminal contempt by disobeying his ruling, only to see the Supreme Court rule that only judges where migrants are being held have jurisdiction to halt their removal.—
Jasmine Garsd,
NPR,
19 Apr. 2025
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The timing of Lopez Gomez’s arrest, first reported by the Florida Phoenix, raises questions about whether the court order was disobeyed.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Tsuyoshi had rebelled against the boss of the entertainment business and left the company not on good terms.—
Sara Merican,
Deadline,
22 Apr. 2025
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When getting around is arduous and unsafe, workers rebel against their commutes, depressing the value of commercial buildings.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misbehave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbehave. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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