mismanage

verb

mis·​man·​age ˌmis-ˈma-nij 

mismanaged; mismanaging

transitive verb

: to manage (something) wrongly or poorly

mismanage a business

… started thinking that maybe employees are sometimes mismanaged because they let themselves be mismanaged. They don't fight back.

—A. J. Anderson

… even those professional Pollyannas who publicly find reason to praise the current municipal administration shake their heads in private and wonder how long we can go on deliberately mismanaging our affairs.

—Brendan Gill

mismanagement

ˌmis-ˈma-nij-mənt 

noun

plural mismanagements

financial mismanagement of the company

Synonyms of mismanage

• misconduct
• damage
• violate
• mishandle
• misgovern
• abuse

Examples of mismanage in a Sentence

the business was mismanaged so seriously that it eventually had to declare bankruptcy

Recent Examples on the Web

However, Coleman later said much of his fortune was mismanaged by Edmonia Sue Coleman and Willie Coleman, along with his former business manager Anita DeThomas. —Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2026

Her three opponents have accused her of mismanaging the office, presiding over growing legal payouts and making a series of missteps that infuriated members of the City Council. —Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026

Since signing that deal, management has mismanaged the cap and limited trade assets, while leaving gaping holes that landed this team in a 3-2 hole. —Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026

GloriFi board member Nick Ayers, who served as former Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, alleged Neugebauer was volatile, drinking on the job and mismanaging the company, the Wall Street Journal reported. —Chris Tomlinson, Houston Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mismanage

• manage
• tannage

Kids Definition

mismanage

verb

mis·​man·​age

(ˈ)mis-ˈman-ij

: to manage badly or improperly

mismanagement

-mənt

noun