misappropriate
verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmi-sə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt 
misappropriated; misappropriating; misappropriates
: to appropriate wrongly (as by theft or embezzlement)
Synonyms
Examples of misappropriate in a Sentence
They accused him of misappropriating town funds.
a financial manager misappropriating funds from her clients' accounts
Recent Examples on the Web
Here's some battleground state banter Apache County Attorney Michael Whiting recently made news over allegations of misappropriating taxpayer funds, destroying evidence and using two employees as political enforcers.
—
Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 12 Aug. 2024
In Marshall et al. v. ESPN et al. (2016), college players argued TV networks misappropriated their right of publicity by featuring them in games broadcast on TV without paying them.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Sep. 2024
Impact Sports commenced an arbitration in accordance with the NFLPA Regulations against Kiernan and Select Sports Group alleging Kiernan had misappropriated confidential information in making the transition.
—Chris Deubert, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024
Kasprzak then filed his own L.A. County lawsuit in April 2023 accusing Huang of misappropriating funds from the company.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for misappropriate 
Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 12 Aug. 2024
In Marshall et al. v. ESPN et al. (2016), college players argued TV networks misappropriated their right of publicity by featuring them in games broadcast on TV without paying them.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Sep. 2024
Impact Sports commenced an arbitration in accordance with the NFLPA Regulations against Kiernan and Select Sports Group alleging Kiernan had misappropriated confidential information in making the transition.
—Chris Deubert, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024
Kasprzak then filed his own L.A. County lawsuit in April 2023 accusing Huang of misappropriating funds from the company.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for misappropriate
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misappropriate.' 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 misappropriate
Cite this Entry
“Misappropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misappropriate. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
misappropriate
verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmis-ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt
: to appropriate wrongly
especially
: to take dishonestly for one's own use
Legal Definition
misappropriate
transitive verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmi-sə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt
: to appropriate wrongfully or unlawfully (as by theft or embezzlement)
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