misbehaviour

/ˌmɪsbəˈheɪvjɚ/

//ˌmɪsbəˈheɪvjɚ// noun

"misbehaviour" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“misbehaviour” is uncommon English (frequency #75,209 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,209
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative spelling of misbehavior.

Corpus desk

Index EN-misbehaviour · misbehaviour · English

misbehaviour · rank #75,209 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,209
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH misanthropic

Nearest frequency peer: misanthropic (-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 “misbehaviour”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for misbehaviour
PropertyValue
Headwordmisbehaviour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌmɪsbəˈheɪvjɚ/
Letters12
Frequency rank#75,209
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “misbehaviour” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).misbehaviourfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “misanthropic” (#75,208), “misleadingly” (#75,210), “misanthrope” (#75,207). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “misbehaviour” is #75,209. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

misbehaviour is uncommon English at frequency #75,209 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌmɪsbəˈheɪvjɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative spelling of misbehavior.".

misbehaviour doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

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

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative spelling of misbehavior.

Etymology

From mis- + behaviour.

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 "misbehaviour"?
"misbehaviour" is spelled M-I-S-B-E-H-A-V-I-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌmɪsbəˈheɪvjɚ/.
What does "misbehaviour" mean?
As a noun, "misbehaviour" means: Alternative spelling of misbehavior.
How do you pronounce "misbehaviour"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "misbehaviour" is /ˌmɪsbəˈheɪvjɚ/. 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 "misbehaviour"?
From mis- + behaviour. 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 "misbehaviour", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list