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
Ellison acknowledged that the meeting itself took place at LifeTime Work’s coworking space, which houses the corporate offices of ThinkTechAct Foundation, a company that misappropriated millions of dollars in child nutrition money. —
Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Apr. 2026 The investigation, supported by an audit by Arkansas Legislative Audit, determined Hulen misappropriated $2,210 in court fine payments while employed as the court clerk. —Arkansas Online, 24 Apr. 2026 The suit also claims Resilience CEO Manoj Prasad misappropriated a state loan worth $10 million. —Cbs Chicago Team, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026 After Lourenco took over as president, his administration estimated that at least $24 billion was stolen or misappropriated by dos Santos. —ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for misappropriate
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.
Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Apr. 2026 The investigation, supported by an audit by Arkansas Legislative Audit, determined Hulen misappropriated $2,210 in court fine payments while employed as the court clerk. —Arkansas Online, 24 Apr. 2026 The suit also claims Resilience CEO Manoj Prasad misappropriated a state loan worth $10 million. —Cbs Chicago Team, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026 After Lourenco took over as president, his administration estimated that at least $24 billion was stolen or misappropriated by dos Santos. —ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for misappropriate
Cite this Entry
“Misappropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/misappropriate. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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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