misbehave
verb
mis·be·have
ˌmis-bi-ˈhāv 
-bē-
misbehaved; misbehaving
1
a
transitive
: to conduct (oneself) badly or improperly
students who frequently misbehave themselves in class
b
intransitive
: to behave with poor manners or a lack of courtesy
He worried about the decline of family discipline, about the fact that local youth went out walking after dark, wasted time in levity, misbehaved in church.—
Tracy Kidder
Tracy Kidder
c
intransitive
: to behave with disregard for accepted moral standards especially in sexual matters
known for misbehaving with numerous women
d
intransitive
of a member of the armed forces
: to behave before or in the presence of the enemy in a way that does not conform to military standards or practice
… has been charged with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy …—Dan Lamothe
Dan Lamothe2
intransitive
: to behave in an unexpected or unwelcome way
After five floods in four years, people in Liberty County are used to seeing the Trinity River misbehave.—Adam Nossiter
Adam Nossiter
misbehaver
noun
plural misbehavers
misbehavers in the classroom
Examples of misbehave in a Sentence
scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early
Recent Examples on the Web
Trying to rein in her misbehaving kid had been deeply isolating.
—Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 21 June 2024
During the 2022-23 school year, Johnsburg Elementary had 687 referrals, or disciplinary write-ups, involving a student misbehaving, up from 222 referrals in 2021-22 and 276 referrals in 2018-19.
—Ariel Gilreath, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
The culprit was a misbehaving valve on the rocket's Centaur upper stage, which has two RL10 engines fed by super-chilled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 10 May 2024
How will his proposal to put a black mark on the school record of children found to have misbehaved do anything other than bar them from access to higher education?
—The Week Uk, theweek, 5 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for misbehave 
Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 21 June 2024
During the 2022-23 school year, Johnsburg Elementary had 687 referrals, or disciplinary write-ups, involving a student misbehaving, up from 222 referrals in 2021-22 and 276 referrals in 2018-19.
—Ariel Gilreath, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
The culprit was a misbehaving valve on the rocket's Centaur upper stage, which has two RL10 engines fed by super-chilled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 10 May 2024
How will his proposal to put a black mark on the school record of children found to have misbehaved do anything other than bar them from access to higher education?
—The Week Uk, theweek, 5 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for misbehave
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misbehave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near misbehave
Cite this Entry
“Misbehave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misbehave. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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