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
The host can do this by calling the parent and assuring them that the kids will have no access to the alcohol, and that in the unlikely event a parent misbehaves, it will be dealt with immediately.
—
Judith Martin, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2025
Monitor battery and data usage Check for unusual battery or data consumption, which can indicate malicious or misbehaving apps.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Over the course of two days, the teams identified 139 novel ways to get the systems to misbehave including by generating misinformation or leaking personal data.
—Will Knight, Wired News, 6 Aug. 2025
Rational participants are thus economically deterred from misbehaving.
—Ali Faizan Rizvi, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Judith Martin, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2025
Monitor battery and data usage Check for unusual battery or data consumption, which can indicate malicious or misbehaving apps.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Over the course of two days, the teams identified 139 novel ways to get the systems to misbehave including by generating misinformation or leaking personal data.
—Will Knight, Wired News, 6 Aug. 2025
Rational participants are thus economically deterred from misbehaving.
—Ali Faizan Rizvi, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misbehave
Verb
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In Missouri, disobeying traffic lights is considered a moving violation.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
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This was neither the first nor the last time that Patton disobeyed an order.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Loosely inspired by real-life events, the film chronicled the tale of an undercover detective infiltraitng a coal mining community to expose a group of Irish-American miners rebelling against the mine owners.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
17 Oct. 2025
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When she was pulled into the Upside Down and seemingly forgotten, the fanbase rebelled and #JusticeforBarb was born.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misbehave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbehave. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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