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
Behind the scenes, DeFelice had misappropriated tens of thousands of dollars, according to a state audit report released last fall.
—
Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 16 Jan. 2025
Ellison had served as CEO of Alameda Research, a sister company of FTX that had misappropriated billions in customer funds from the crypto exchange.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2024
The state Supreme Court disbarred a Miami lawyer after a scathing 123-page referee’s report that accused the attorney of misappropriating client funds and, possibly, money laundering to cover theft.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2025
The next month, WBD hosted Tesla for its robotaxi rollout event, which led to the studio getting sued for misappropriating Blade Runner 2049.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for misappropriate 
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Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 16 Jan. 2025
Ellison had served as CEO of Alameda Research, a sister company of FTX that had misappropriated billions in customer funds from the crypto exchange.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2024
The state Supreme Court disbarred a Miami lawyer after a scathing 123-page referee’s report that accused the attorney of misappropriating client funds and, possibly, money laundering to cover theft.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2025
The next month, WBD hosted Tesla for its robotaxi rollout event, which led to the studio getting sued for misappropriating Blade Runner 2049.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for misappropriate
Dictionary Entries Near misappropriate
Cite this Entry
“Misappropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misappropriate. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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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