as in naughty
engaging in or marked by childish misbehavior
a new approach for disciplining a chronically misbehaving child
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in disobeying
to behave badly
scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 misbehaving
Judith Martin, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
Why must members of the public be disrespected by unruly, misbehaving, noisy children, who are then defended by adults who should know better?
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misbehaving
Adjective
-
The jokes — good, bad and cheap — come non-stop in then show’s 90 minutes, and are filled and sometimes pummeled with pop culture and brand-name references, puns, anachronistic humor, and naughty bits.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The home needed to display her naughty sense of humor too.—
Julie Vadnal,
Architectural Digest,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office charged Nikolas Hart, 25, with six counts, including felony animal cruelty and misdemeanors related to allegations of domestic violence, witness tampering and disobeying a court order.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
He was arraigned Monday and pleaded not guilty to one felony count of animal cruelty, one misdemeanor charge each of injury to a spouse or cohabitant and attempting to dissuade a victim or witness, and three counts of disobeying a court order to not contact the victim.—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This mischievous psychothriller takes that premise to new, nerve-fraying levels.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Berfield played Reese, Malcolm's mischievous older brother.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Two decades after Steve Jobs premiered the iPhone, a small but passionate movement — with offshoots in several countries — is rebelling against the omnipresent screen.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Republicans themselves remain divided over how to proceed, with some hard-right lawmakers already rebelling against the shutdown deal.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Kawhi Leonard sat out for the Clippers to rest ankle and wrist injuries, while Draymond Green was out for the Warriors with a bad back.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Was Paul’s effect on history, incalculably large, good or bad on the whole?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misbehaving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbehaving. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
