misbehaving 1 of 2

adjective

as in naughty
engaging in or marked by childish misbehavior a new approach for disciplining a chronically misbehaving child

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misbehaving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of misbehave
as in disobeying
to behave badly scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early

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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
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
  1. naughty
  2. disobeying
  3. mischievous
  4. rebelling
  5. bad
Adjective
  • Romantic, criminal and naughty hijinks ensue and bonds are tested — and ultimately reinforced.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Queen Elizabeth—long known as a lover of horses—was a frequent recipient of the pony’s naughty side, like in 2017, when Corporal Cruachan attempted to take a bite of the flowers the queen was holding during a visit to Stirling Castle.
    — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of naughty
Verb
  • Santana-Mateo was booked on charges of breach of peace, engaging police in a pursuit, disobeying the direction of officer, reckless driving, failure to obey a stop sign, failure to drive right, failure to obey a traffic control signal and driving the wrong way on a one way.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2026
  • Icarus disobeying his father Daedalus and flying too close to the sun.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 May 2026
Definition of disobeying
Adjective
  • For the kooky, mischievous and not-often-sober Shifty Gruff, Sheen was always the number one choice.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2026
  • As mischievous, myth-making Grandpa Walton, Will Geer endeared viewers with his warm and relatable approach to the character.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of mischievous
Verb
  • With fatter paychecks, customers are rebelling against the chains that serve up shrinkflation and replace workers with broken self-checkout machines and touchscreen kiosks.
    — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Stephens arrives as if the plan remained intact, her head-to-toe leather look rebelling against the searing heat.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of rebelling
Adjective
  • Neighbors said the rotten-egg smell has gotten worse over the last couple of weeks, even trailing to apartments across the street.
    — Nicole Comstock, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • For Panama, the result is a wet season that’s already been drier than usual and is likely to get worse.
    — Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of bad

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Cite this Entry

“Misbehaving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbehaving. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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