mismanage
/mɪsˈmæ.nədʒ/verb
mismanage is spelled M-I-S-M-A-N-A-G-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, mismanage means “To manage an area of responsibility in a way which is inept, incompetent, or dishonest” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in mismanage?
| Letters | 9: M-I-S-M-A-N-A-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 25 million words; the 150,355th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is mismanage?
Mismanage appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mismanage?
- /mɪsˈmæ.nədʒ/
Mismanage has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-mismanage.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of mismanage
- mismanages present, singular, he/she/it
- mismanaging participle, present
- mismanaged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mismanage mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To manage an area of responsibility in a way which is inept, incompetent, or dishonest.
She mismanaged my finances and left me bankrupt.
- 2
To behave, in a management capacity, in a manner which is inept, incompetent, or dishonest.
The fundamental reason why the company failed is that the CEO and other top managers simply mismanaged.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mismanage in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Translations:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | dilapidar, despalillar, gestionar malamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mismanage come from?
From mis- + manage.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).