misdeed

noun

misdeed

noun

/mɪsˈdiːd/

Etymology From Middle English misdede, from Old English misdǣd (“misdeed”), from Proto-West Germanic *missadādi, from Proto-Germanic *missadēdiz (“misdeed”); equivalent to mis- + deed. Cognate with Scots misded (“misdeed”), West Frisian misdied (“misdeed”), Dutch misdaad (“misdeed”), German Missetat (“misdeed”), Swedish missdåd (“misdeed”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐍃𐍃𐌰𐌳𐌴𐌸𐍃 (missadēþs, “misdeed”).

1

That which was done that should not have been, ranging from any sin or moral offense to various degrees of crime.

  • The petty misdeeds of his youth came back to haunt him when he ran for political office and his character was smeared.
  • These [putting feet on seats and leaving rubbish behind] are officially among the worst habits revealed by staff working on Northern's trains and at stations. Other bugbears include playing music through loudspeakers, not giving way to passengers getting off the train and actually illegal activities such as fare evasion and vaping in enclosed spaces. The list of misdeeds was released by the operator on March 3 to coincide with Employee Appreciation Day.2023 March 22, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 979, page 71:
Synonyms
crime, delict, delinquency, error, malfeasance, misdeed, misdemeanor, misdoing, offense, peccadillo, sin, tort, tortfeasance, transgression, veniality, villainy, wrong, wrongdoing
Derived terms
misdeeder, misdeedy
Related terms
misdo, misdoer, mischief
Hypernyms
action
Hyponyms
atrocity, betrayal, corruption, cuckoldry, dereliction, indiscretion, injustice, misbehavior, theft, woe

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.