as in to disobey
to behave badly
scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early
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Recent Examples of misbehave
Stevie wasn’t misbehaving or even playing with toys to occupy herself.
—
Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
Several recent studies have shown that artificial-intelligence agents sometimes decide to misbehave, for instance by attempting to blackmail people who plan to replace them.
—Matthew Hutson, IEEE Spectrum, 25 Nov. 2025
This can lead to stress, perfectionist tendencies, and feeling not good enough when the other sibs inevitably misbehave.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
Lawrence is hoping fans of both teams treat it as a special sporting event and do not misbehave.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
Several recent studies have shown that artificial-intelligence agents sometimes decide to misbehave, for instance by attempting to blackmail people who plan to replace them.
—Matthew Hutson, IEEE Spectrum, 25 Nov. 2025
This can lead to stress, perfectionist tendencies, and feeling not good enough when the other sibs inevitably misbehave.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
Lawrence is hoping fans of both teams treat it as a special sporting event and do not misbehave.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misbehave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misbehave
Verb
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However, all of the city’s fire stations seemingly disobeyed the mayor by lowering their flags.—
R. Christian Smith,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
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Trump had to relent on a scheme to prosecute Fed Chair Jerome Powell for disobeying White House commands to cut interest rates.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Čapek’s robots, which are indistinguishable from humans, rise up and rebel against their creators, a plot that anticipates many robot stories that would follow.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
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When garnished with the story of an impetuous son who rebelled against a Mughal emperor, that lamb broth does give a different kick.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misbehave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbehave. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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