wrongful

adjective

ˈrȯŋ-fəl How to pronounce wrongful (audio)
Definition of wrongfulnext
as in unlawful
contrary to or forbidden by law charged with wrongful possession of narcotics

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 wrongful Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Chen as a wrongful detainee in March. — ABC News, 14 July 2026 The family of a former Obama-era White House official filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Monday over a 2023 flight when pilots briefly lost control of a private jet resulting in fatal injuries to a passenger. — Todd C. Frankel, Washington Post, 14 July 2026 In the past year, 56 people have filed wrongful conviction claims in Georgia. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 13 July 2026 Alfred Dreyfus, whose wrongful 19th century treason conviction exposed deeply rooted anti-Jewish bias in France. — Masha MacPherson, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for wrongful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrongful
  1. unlawful
  2. criminal
  3. illicit
  4. felonious
Adjective
  • Federal authorities routinely target South Florida remittance companies that operate as conduits for unlawful money transfers, especially for drug traffickers, because many are suspected of evading bank-reporting requirements.
    — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026
  • Renner was charged with second-degree manslaughter and Seymore with unlawful imprisonment, among other charges.
    — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 10 July 2026
Definition of unlawful
Adjective
  • As part of her release conditions, she has been ordered to stay away from her 13-year-old daughter while the criminal case proceeds.
    — Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 14 July 2026
  • In some regions, a single medical examiner may oversee hundreds of deaths each year, leading to bottlenecks that can slow criminal cases, complicate insurance claims, and leave families waiting months and sometimes years for answers.
    — Gregory McDonald, STAT, 13 July 2026
Definition of criminal
Adjective
  • In the latter case, it is found especially in countries where alcoholic drinks are hard to afford or illicit.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 July 2026
  • In Phoenix, this shift in the illicit drug supply has combined with heat, meth and homelessness to create an emerging crisis of overdose deaths in America’s fifth-largest city.
    — Josh Katz, New York Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of illicit
Adjective
  • At his sentencing, Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Connor Davin recounted Loftis’ long history of criminal convictions, which included charges of assault on a peace officer, drug trafficking, felonious assault and armed robbery.
    — Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 9 July 2026
  • Police were serving a search warrant from a felonious assault case.
    — Leah Olajide, Freep.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of felonious

Browse Nearby Words

wronged
wrongful
wrongfulness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wrongful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrongful. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on wrongful

Nglish: Translation of wrongful for Spanish Speakers

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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dog days

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All