misappropriate
verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmi-sə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt 
misappropriated; misappropriating; misappropriates
: to appropriate wrongly (as by theft or embezzlement)
Examples of misappropriate in a Sentence
They accused him of misappropriating town funds.
a financial manager misappropriating funds from her clients' accounts
Recent Examples on the Web
Shortly before his death, A.B. confronted Lilly in his office and threatened to expose her for misappropriating funds, illegally securing contracts, trading favors with different vendors and sneaking individuals into the White House.
—
Max Gao, Variety, 23 Mar. 2025
The bill seeking to classify TDS as a mental illness raises concerns about the politicization of mental health diagnoses, which could be used to misappropriate care, diminish other mental health concerns, and suppress dissent and political expression.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
This is incisive and great, getting at uninteresting people misappropriating culture and being lame ironists.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2025
The case involved college football players who sued ESPN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and conferences for allegedly misappropriating their right of publicity by featuring them in games broadcast on TV without paying them.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misappropriate
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Max Gao, Variety, 23 Mar. 2025
The bill seeking to classify TDS as a mental illness raises concerns about the politicization of mental health diagnoses, which could be used to misappropriate care, diminish other mental health concerns, and suppress dissent and political expression.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
This is incisive and great, getting at uninteresting people misappropriating culture and being lame ironists.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2025
The case involved college football players who sued ESPN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and conferences for allegedly misappropriating their right of publicity by featuring them in games broadcast on TV without paying them.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misappropriate
Cite this Entry
“Misappropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misappropriate. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
misappropriate
verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmis-ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt
: to appropriate wrongly
especially
: to take dishonestly for one's own use
Legal Definition
misappropriate
transitive verb
mis·ap·pro·pri·ate
ˌmi-sə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt
: to appropriate wrongfully or unlawfully (as by theft or embezzlement)
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