as in to misconduct
to manage badly
the ruling party was soundly defeated at the polls for having disastrously misgoverned the country
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Recent Examples of misgovern
But a ruling class that systematically blinds itself to the most profound longings of human beings will misunderstand and misgovern those under its sway.
—
Benjamin and Jenna Storey, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2021
Benjamin and Jenna Storey, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misgovern
Verb
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But given the agency’s track record of withholding information, mismanaging funds and failing to comply with audit recommendations, assurances alone are not enough.—
J.B. Jennings,
Baltimore Sun,
22 Feb. 2026
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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a letter last week demanding information about the project and accusing the state of mismanaging federal funds.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Over the past three weeks, the collapse of the once-tight bond between two of the most prominent names in AI has been the subject of a high-profile trial in Oakland, California, after Musk sued Altman and OpenAI in 2024 for allegedly violating their commitment to keep OpenAI as a nonprofit.—
Ashley Capoot,Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
18 May 2026
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For now, Carl still looks like an ethical saint compared to Duncan, who remains committed to violating privacy laws with such brazenness that even the federal government would be moved to pass enforceable regulations against him.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
17 May 2026
Verb
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While satellite launches mostly produce black carbon, which has a potential to warm the upper atmosphere, satellite re-entries generate aluminum oxides, which can damage the ozone layer.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
18 May 2026
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Fallen debris also caused a house in the village of Subbotino to catch fire, while four people were injured when drones damaged several residential blocks in the western town of Istra, TASS reported.—
Kosta Gak,
CNN Money,
17 May 2026
Verb
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My greatest wish is that this ruling sets a precedent for the Treasury and serves the thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes their guilt and forces them to prove their innocence at the cost of economic and emotional ruin.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
18 May 2026
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The 68-year-old pharmacist has targeted a House ethics investigation into whether Collins abused taxpayer funds by hiring the girlfriend of his former chief of staff — now his campaign adviser — for work that the woman allegedly did not perform.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
Verb
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The result is a society that feels both rule-bound and misruled, saturated with laws and yet strangely lawless.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
9 Sep. 2025
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Congo had been brutally misruled by Belgium for over 70 years when the winds of change blew through in the late 1950s.—
Zachariah Mampilly,
Foreign Affairs,
28 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Misgovern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misgovern. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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