misbehavior

/ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪvjə(ɹ)/

//ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪvjə(ɹ)// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"misbehavior" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“misbehavior” is uncommon English (frequency #51,255 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,255
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Action or conduct that is inappropriate, improper, incorrect, or unexpected.

Corpus desk

Index EN-misbehavior · misbehavior · English

misbehavior · rank #51,255 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,255
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mirrorless

Nearest frequency peer: mirrorless (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “misbehavior”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “misbehavior” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for misbehavior
PropertyValue
Headwordmisbehavior
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪvjə(ɹ)/
Letters11
Frequency rank#51,255
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “misbehavior” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).misbehaviorfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “mirrorless” (#51,254), “Miura” (#51,258), “Minato” (#51,251). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “misbehavior” is #51,255. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

misbehavior is uncommon English at frequency #51,255 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪvjə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Action or conduct that is inappropriate, improper, incorrect, or unexpected.".

No misspelling variants are generated for misbehavior in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mis- + behavior. The correct English form is misbehavior, spelled M-I-S-B-E-H-A-V-I-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Action or conduct that is inappropriate, improper, incorrect, or unexpected.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how misbehavior appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The teacher did not tolerate misbehavior in his classroom.

Etymology

From mis- + behavior.

Synonyms

misconducterrancycarrying-on

This word in other languages

inconduite(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "misbehavior"?
"misbehavior" is spelled M-I-S-B-E-H-A-V-I-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪvjə(ɹ)/.
What does "misbehavior" mean?
As a noun, "misbehavior" means: Action or conduct that is inappropriate, improper, incorrect, or unexpected.
How do you pronounce "misbehavior"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "misbehavior" is /ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪvjə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "misbehavior"?
From mis- + behavior. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "misbehavior", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

optometrist#51,293infomercial#51,180incredulity#51,178hydrostatic#51,168

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list