misbehavior

/mɪsbiˈheɪvjər/

/mɪsbiˈheɪvjə/

Other forms: misbehaviors

When you do something wrong or bad, that's misbehavior. If your little brother hides your homework, intentionally dumps his cereal on the floor, and draws on the walls with permanent marker, you might say he's an expert in misbehavior.

Whether an activity is mere naughtiness or more significant misconduct, it all falls under the category of misbehavior. When a politician pays someone to stay quiet about his misbehavior, he's added additional misbehavior to the record. If you know that behavior means the way you act, it's easy to see what happens when you add the prefix mis-, meaning "bad".

Definitions of misbehavior

1. noun

   improper or wicked or immoral behavior
   synonyms: misbehaviour, misdeed

   types:

   delinquency, juvenile delinquency

   an antisocial misdeed in violation of the law by a minor

   devilment, devilry, deviltry, mischief, mischief-making, mischievousness, rascality, roguery, roguishness, shenanigan

   reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others

   ruffianism

   violent lawless behavior

   familiarity, impropriety, indecorum, liberty

   an act of undue intimacy

   abnormality, irregularity

   behavior that breaches the rule or etiquette or custom or morality

   impropriety, indecency

   a wrong or indecent act

   indiscretion, peccadillo

   a petty misdeed

   infantilism

   infantile behavior in mature persons

   blaze, hell

   noisy and unrestrained mischief

   monkey business

   mischievous or deceitful behavior

   deviance, deviation

   deviate behavior

   obscenity

   an obscene act

   hooliganism, malicious mischief, vandalism

   willful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others

   type of:

   actus reus, misconduct, wrongdoing, wrongful conduct

   activity that transgresses moral or civil law