Standard Lemma guide

misappropriate

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˌmɪs.əˈpɹəʊ.pɹɪ.eɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˌmɪs.əˈpɹoʊ.pɹi.eɪt/
  • CMU ARPABET: M IH0 S AH0 P R OW1 P R IY0 EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To take something for wrong or illegal purposes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To embezzle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • The accountant was found to have misappropriated funds over a period of three years.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

appropriate (as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The accountant embezzled thousands of dollars while working for the wealthy family

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: embezzle, defalcate, peculate, malversate

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: steal

Narrower terms: fiddle

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-? Proto-Indo-European *meyth2-der. Proto-Germanic *missaz Proto-Germanic *missa- Proto-West Germanic *missa- Old English mis- Middle English mys- English mis- English appropriate English misappropriate From mis- + appropriate.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: shpërdoroj — to use something wrongly, or illegally
  • Bulgarian: злоупотребявам (zloupotrebjavam) — to use something wrongly, or illegally
  • Czech: zpronevěřovat — to use something wrongly, or illegally
  • Czech: zpronevěřit — to use something wrongly, or illegally
  • Polish: sprzeniewierzyć — to use something wrongly, or illegally
  • Polish: sprzeniewierzać — to use something wrongly, or illegally
  • Slovene: poneveriti — to use something wrongly, or illegally
  • Slovene: poneverjati — to use something wrongly, or illegally