MISBEHAVING Synonyms: 154 Similar and Opposite Words

misbehaving 1 of 2

adjective

as in naughty

engaging in or marked by childish misbehavior a new approach for disciplining a chronically misbehaving child

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misbehaving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of misbehave

as in disobeying

to behave badly scolded the children for misbehaving and sent them to bed early

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of misbehaving

Adjective

Why must members of the public be disrespected by unruly, misbehaving, noisy children, who are then defended by adults who should know better? — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for misbehaving

Adjective

Romantic, criminal and naughty hijinks ensue and bonds are tested — and ultimately reinforced.

— Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Queen Elizabeth—long known as a lover of horses—was a frequent recipient of the pony’s naughty side, like in 2017, when Corporal Cruachan attempted to take a bite of the flowers the queen was holding during a visit to Stirling Castle.

— Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of naughty

Verb

The violations are disobeying orders and conduct unbecoming an officer.

— Charlie D'Agata, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
Santana-Mateo was booked on charges of breach of peace, engaging police in a pursuit, disobeying the direction of officer, reckless driving, failure to obey a stop sign, failure to drive right, failure to obey a traffic control signal and driving the wrong way on a one way.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2026

Definition of disobeying

Verb

People are rebelling against the constant connection and dopamine distraction that smartphones can bring.

— Anthony Karcz, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
With fatter paychecks, customers are rebelling against the chains that serve up shrinkflation and replace workers with broken self-checkout machines and touchscreen kiosks.

— Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of rebelling

Adjective

Poor Anton has been left out of the drama all day, an effort by Billie and Samir to prevent an already bad futzing from escalating to something severe, and that’s never where Anton likes to be.

— Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Although rarely seen, its reemergence earlier this summer is a signal of how bad the region’s ongoing drought has gotten, as well as a warning for the difficult months ahead.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of bad

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misbehaves

misbehaving

misbehavior

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“Misbehaving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbehaving. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of misbehaving

adjective

verb

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