misbehave

/ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪv/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪv/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌmis-bi-ˈhāv -bē-/ (ame, mw)

misbehave — verb

  • misbehavepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • misbehaveshe / she / it
  • misbehavedpast simple
  • misbehaving-ing form

1. to act in a rude, disobedient, or otherwise unacceptable way after being told th

1.動詞不及物B2
釋義

to act in a rude, disobedient, or otherwise unacceptable way after being told the rules or expected to behave properly

例句

Christopher started to misbehave whenever the coach looked away.

misbehave + whenever-clause for repeated bad behaviour

Meera's dog misbehaved and knocked over three cups in the kitchen.

animal subject: pet misbehaves and causes trouble

同義詞
  • act up

    more informal; often suggests repeated troublesome behaviour, especially in children

  • be naughty

    milder and mostly used about children

  • disobey

    narrower; focuses on not following an order rather than general bad behaviour

反義詞
  • behave

    neutral opposite meaning to act properly and follow expected rules

  • obey

    stronger focus on doing what you are told

文法句型

misbehave

misbehave + adverbial

用法筆記

Usually said of children, pets, students, or groups of people in a place where rules matter. It often suggests that someone in authority is expected to correct the behaviour.

常見錯誤

❌The teacher misbehaved the children.
✅The children misbehaved.' / 'The teacher could not control the children.
💡misbehave does not take a direct object.
❌My son behaved bad in class.
✅My son misbehaved in class.' / 'My son behaved badly in class.
💡misbehave is the verb for breaking rules; badly is needed after behave.

2. (of a machine, program, or other system) to stop working properly and start doin

2.動詞不及物B2
釋義

(of a machine, program, or other system) to stop working properly and start doing things the user does not want or expect

例句

Joon's laptop misbehaved and froze during the final presentation.

machine subject: device misbehaves and then fails

The office printer misbehaved again and covered every page with lines.

misbehave again for repeated technical trouble

同義詞
  • malfunction

    more technical and neutral; common in manuals and reports

  • act up

    informal; often used for small repeated faults in machines

  • go wrong

    very general everyday phrase for something failing

反義詞
  • work properly

    neutral opposite meaning that the machine functions as expected

  • run smoothly

    emphasises steady operation without faults or interruptions

文法句型

machine/system + misbehave

用法筆記

Used jokingly or informally for machines and systems when they act almost like badly behaved people. More technical writing often uses malfunction instead.

常見錯誤

❌The printer misbehaved the report.
✅The printer misbehaved while printing the report.
💡misbehave still does not take a direct object in the machine sense.
❌My computer behaved badly and froze.
✅My computer misbehaved and froze.' / 'My computer was working badly and froze.
💡the machine sense is normally expressed with misbehave, not behave badly.