as in to misconduct
to manage badly the ruling party was soundly defeated at the polls for having disastrously misgoverned the country

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 misgovern But a ruling class that systematically blinds itself to the most profound longings of human beings will misunderstand and misgovern those under its sway. Benjamin and Jenna Storey, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misgovern
Verb
  • Tuesday’s announcement comes after Israel accused Hamas of violating the truce by firing on Israeli forces in Rafah and reneging on promises to return missing hostage remains.
    Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 29 Oct. 2025
  • In a complaint filed in 2023, Gannett and the other plaintiffs accused Google of violating federal antitrust laws by abusing its dominant position to control and profit from the technology used by publishers to buy and sell ads across the internet.
    USA TODAY, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Just under two million Palestinians—virtually the entire population of Gaza—have been displaced since October 2023, many repeatedly, and Israeli forces have damaged or destroyed more than 90 percent of homes in the Strip.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
  • This protection also works to protect plants that are marginally hardy in your area, such as hydrangeas blooming on old wood that may not bloom if their flower buds are damaged by cold.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Many of us were abused by them.
    Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 2 Nov. 2025
  • The first is the publication of Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, released in October, which contained her allegations against Andrew and the wider story of her being abused by Epstein.
    Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The result is a society that feels both rule-bound and misruled, saturated with laws and yet strangely lawless.
    Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Congo had been brutally misruled by Belgium for over 70 years when the winds of change blew through in the late 1950s.
    Zachariah Mampilly, Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Misgovern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misgovern. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!