misbehave Hear it!

misbehave Definition

mis·be·have (-bē hāv′)

intransitive verb -·haved′, -·hav′·ing

to behave wrongly

transitive verb

to conduct (oneself) improperly

misbehave Related Forms

mis′·be·hav′er noun mis′·be·hav′·ior (-yər) noun

misbehave Synonyms

misbehave

v.

do wrong, do evil, sin, fail, trip, blunder, work iniquity, offend, trespass, act up, carry on, behave badly, misdo, err, lapse, be delinquent, be at fault, be culpable, be blameworthy, be guilty, be censurable, be reprehensible, be bad, misdemean oneself, forget oneself, misconduct oneself, be immoral, be dissolute, be disreputable, be indecorous, carry on, be naughty, go astray, take a wrong course, deviate from the path of virtue, sow one's wild oats*, cut up*, screw up*; see also transgress.

Antonyms behave*, be good, do well.

misbehave Usage Examples

Object

  • child: It seemed to him for a moment that his needs were as invisible to the adults in the room as the misbehaving children were.
  • application: A misbehaving application could accidentally access any I/O address and so create havoc with network cards or hard disks.
  • lack: Common stress symptoms they reported in the children included anxiety, misbehaving, lack of interest in school, difficulty sleeping and mood swings.
  • boy: Tom Sawyer, a typical misbehaved young boy growing up through grade school, is the protagonist of this book.
  • player: ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE sanctions is forcing the misbehaving player to sit out during an activity.
  • student: When being sent to the head's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

Preposition: on

bus: What does a volunteer do if a child misbehaves on the Bus?

Preposition: at

moment: Bad Days and Bad Timing Have you ever noticed how family members always misbehave at the most inappropriate moments?

Modifying Another Word

  • generally: These children form gangs and misbehave generally, many getting in to all sorts of trouble as well as crime and drugs.
  • always: Bad Days and Bad Timing Have you ever noticed how family members always misbehave at the most inappropriate moments?
  • still: It's true that my body has seen better days. But give me half a chance and I can still misbehave.
  • n't: The markets ai n't misbehaving, in other words.
  • not: I tell them that the teachers in school must be obeyed, you must not misbehave.
  • again: He's trying to tell her about Edward and his gang misbehaving again, but she's not that interested.

Preposition: in

  • way: And it was very carefully supervised by Mrs Rawnsley to make sure that the young people didn't misbehave in any way.
  • class: Yet she could still see who was misbehaving in class.
  • public: I have a real issue with parents with unruly kids that misbehave in public.
  • manner: If they learn that they can misbehave in this manner they can become uncooperative, unusable and dangerous.
  • school: The child told officers his mother was punishing him for misbehaving in school.