as in to misuse
to put to a bad or improper use
you've misapplied the theorem to certain problems that require a different formula kids who misapply their boundless energy and get into trouble
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Recent Examples of misapply
Without adjusting, companies will misapply probabilistic tools to deterministic problems and misinterpret their outcomes.
—
Richie Etwaru,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
But sometimes people misapply the word tradition to things that are simply obsolete.
—
Joe Rexrode,
The Athletic,
30 Dec. 2024
Our biased admiration for good fathers is misapplied to a species, such as the bald eagle, in which biparental care is the rule.
—
Time,
17 June 2023
First, if a bull market means to you that stocks are trending unequivocally upward, then, no, the bull market label is being misapplied right now.
—
Jeff Sommer,
New York Times,
16 June 2023
Democrats in Tallahassee say the program isn’t just bad policy, it was misapplied to move migrants from Texas.
—
Todd J. Gillman,
Dallas News,
7 June 2023
O'Shea said the study's findings have often been misinterpreted or misapplied since its publication.
—
Hannah Hudnall,
USA TODAY,
2 June 2023
Ioniţă still has both qualities in equal measure, but they were sorely misapplied in his performance of Dvořák’s cello concerto.
—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Mar. 2023
But laser projectors are still vulnerable to errors of neglect — i.e., dead bugs and misapplied 3-D lenses — and can introduce problems of their own, including a tendency toward green and magenta highlights.
—
Lane Brown,
Vulture,
2 Mar. 2023
Richie Etwaru,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
But sometimes people misapply the word tradition to things that are simply obsolete.
—
Joe Rexrode,
The Athletic,
30 Dec. 2024
Our biased admiration for good fathers is misapplied to a species, such as the bald eagle, in which biparental care is the rule.
—
Time,
17 June 2023
First, if a bull market means to you that stocks are trending unequivocally upward, then, no, the bull market label is being misapplied right now.
—
Jeff Sommer,
New York Times,
16 June 2023
Democrats in Tallahassee say the program isn’t just bad policy, it was misapplied to move migrants from Texas.
—
Todd J. Gillman,
Dallas News,
7 June 2023
O'Shea said the study's findings have often been misinterpreted or misapplied since its publication.
—
Hannah Hudnall,
USA TODAY,
2 June 2023
Ioniţă still has both qualities in equal measure, but they were sorely misapplied in his performance of Dvořák’s cello concerto.
—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Mar. 2023
But laser projectors are still vulnerable to errors of neglect — i.e., dead bugs and misapplied 3-D lenses — and can introduce problems of their own, including a tendency toward green and magenta highlights.
—
Lane Brown,
Vulture,
2 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misapply
Verb
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Anthropic released Claude Fable 5 to the public earlier this month, with safeguards the company said would reduce the risk of it being misused for cyberattacks or other nefarious purposes.
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This comes six months after a jury found Rinsch guilty of misusing funds in connection with the production of an unfinished Netflix series.
Verb
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For more on how attackers can abuse connected devices, see our report on how the FBI warned that more than 1 million Android devices were hijacked by malware.
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Some dogs fear brooms, vacuum cleaners or other household products, particularly if they’ve been hurt or abused in the past.
Cite this Entry
“Misapply.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misapply. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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