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
Defender’s role in that family is the rugged, rebellious brother who misbehaves out in the wild while Discovery gets the princes and princesses off to boarding school.
—
John Scott Lewinski, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2026
When your child misbehaves, rewards might be the last thing on your mind.
—Amy Morin, Parents, 1 Apr. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
John Scott Lewinski, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2026
When your child misbehaves, rewards might be the last thing on your mind.
—Amy Morin, Parents, 1 Apr. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misbehave
Verb
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In 2024, the agency claimed that X security staff sometimes had to pointedly disobey Musk in order to remain in compliance.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
4 June 2026
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Jakubowski faces charges of second-degree reckless endangerment, risk of injury to a minor, reckless driving, interfering with an officer, improper use of maker plates, possession of drug paraphernalia, disobeying the signal of an officer and failure to maintain the proper lane.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
29 May 2026
Verb
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In addition, referees were instructed to apply the rules regarding fouls and misconducts more strictly – a move meant to protect players and their inventiveness.—
Cesar R. Torres,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
Verb
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The teenagers were rebelling, like teenagers are supposed to.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
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After rebelling against the authority of the Jade Emperor (the supreme deity in traditional Chinese cosmology), he is subdued by the Buddha and imprisoned beneath the Five Elements Mountain.—
Frannie Comstock,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misbehave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbehave. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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