misbehave

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

misbehave — 動詞

  • 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

胡鬧；失規矩

人或動物行為失當、違反規矩

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.

Christopher 每次教練一轉過頭，就開始胡鬧。

misbehave + whenever-clause for repeated bad behaviour

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

Meera 的狗很不守規矩，在廚房撞倒了三個杯子。

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

故障；失靈

機器或系統運作不正常

(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.

Joon 的筆電在最後簡報時突然故障，整台卡住。

machine subject: device misbehaves and then fails

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

辦公室的印表機又失靈了，把每一頁都印滿線條。

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.