misconduct

noun

mis·​con·​duct ˌmis-ˈkän-(ˌ)dəkt 

1

: mismanagement especially of governmental or military responsibilities

2

: intentional wrongdoing

specifically : deliberate violation of a law or standard especially by a government official : malfeasance

3

a

: improper behavior

b

: adultery

4

: a penalty (as in ice hockey) for improper behavior or abusive language (as toward an official)

misconduct

ˌmis-kən-ˈdəkt 

transitive verb

Synonyms

• malfeasance
• misbehavior
• misdoing
• wrongdoing

Examples of misconduct in a Sentence

He was forced to defend himself against charges of sexual misconduct.

There have been reports of misconduct by several employees.

Recent Examples on the Web

Separate from the misconduct investigation, Baltimore Police have taken steps in the past year to prioritize officers’ relationships with the community and their presence in neighborhoods. —Darcy Costello, Baltimore Sun, 27 June 2024

The majority, while reiterating the principle that governments may not use their coercive powers to indirectly stifle speech, had some fair concerns about the institutional competence of the judiciary to police this sort of sprawling campaign of executive misconduct. —The Editors, National Review, 27 June 2024

More misconduct allegations arose in the weeks that followed, prompting Greenberg to demand reforms relating to how similar cases are handled in the future. —Keisha Rowe, The Courier-Journal, 26 June 2024

One of the latest reports of misconduct came from New Yorker television critic Emily Nussbaum, who spoke with former cast members about the dating competition’s allegedly toxic workplace and manipulative production tactics. —Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 26 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

misconduct

noun

mis·​con·​duct (ˈ)mis-ˈkän-(ˌ)dəkt 

1

: bad management

2

: improper or unlawful behavior

misconduct

ˌmis-kən-ˈdəkt 

verb

Legal Definition

misconduct

noun

mis·​con·​duct mis-ˈkän-dəkt 

: intentional or wanton wrongful but usually not criminal behavior: as

a

: deliberate or wanton violation of standards of conduct by a government official

b

: wrongful behavior (as adultery) by a spouse that leads to the dissolution of the marriage

c

: an attorney's violation of the standards set for professional conduct

also : an attorney's and especially a prosecutor's use of deceptive or reprehensible methods in presenting a case to a jury

d

: impermissible behavior by a juror (as communicating about the case with outsiders, witnesses, or others, reading or hearing news reports about the case, or independently introducing evidence to other jurors)

e

: an employee's deliberate or wanton disregard of an employer's interests or disregard or violation of the employer's standards or rules that is sufficient to justify a denial of unemployment compensation