Bad or dishonest management by persons supposed to act on another's behalf.

Roget 699: unskillfulness etc. adj.; want of skill etc. 698; incompetence, incompentency^†; inability, infelicity, indexterity^†, inexperience; disqualification, unproficiency^†; quackery.    folly, stupidity etc. 499; indiscretion etc. (rashness) 863; thoughtlessness etc. (inattention) 458 (neglect) 460; sabotage.    mismanagement, misconduct; impolicy^†; maladministration; misrule, misgovernment, misapplication, misdirection, misfeasance; petticoat government.    absence of rule, rule of thumb; bungling etc. v.; failure etc. 732; screw loose: too many cooks.    blunder etc. (mistake) 495; etourderie gaucherie [Fr.], act of folly, balourdise^†; botch, botchery^†; bad job, sad work.    sprat sent out to catch a whale, much ado about nothing, wild-goose chase.    bungler etc. 701; fool etc. 501.    ... show more

Roget 947: guilt, guiltiness; culpability; criminality, criminousness^†; deviation from rectitude etc. (improbity) 940^†; sinfulness etc. (vice) 945.    misconduct, misbehavior, misdoing, misdeed; malpractice, fault, sin, error, transgression; dereliction, delinquency; indiscretion, lapse, slip, trip, faux pas [Fr.], peccadillo; flaw, blot, omission; failing, failure; break, bad break! [U.S.], capital crime, delictum [Lat.].    offense, trespass; misdemeanor, misfeasance, misprision; malefaction, malfeasance, malversation; crime, felony.    enormity, atrocity, outrage; deadly sin, mortal sin; deed without a name" [Macbeth]. corpus delicti.    ... show more

Activity that transgresses moral or civil law.

synonyms: actus reus, wrongdoing, wrongful conduct.

Dutch: ambtsmisdrijf, wangedrag
Polish: postępek, zło

Behave badly.

synonyms: misbehave, misdemean.

Dutch: beesten, misdragen, zich misdragen

Manage badly or incompetently.

synonyms: mishandle, mismanage.

Roget 699: be unskillful etc. adj.; not see an inch beyond one's nose; blunder, bungle, boggle, fumble, botch, bitch, flounder, stumble, trip; hobble etc. 275; put one's foot in it; make a mess of, make hash of, make sad work of; overshoot the mark.    play tricks with, play Puck, mismanage, misconduct, misdirect, misapply, missend.    stultify oneself, make a fool of oneself, commit oneself; act foolishly; play the fool; put oneself out of court; lose control, lose control of oneself, lose one's head, lose one's cunning.    begin at the wrong end; do things by halves etc. (not complete) 730; make two bites of a cherry; play at cross purposes; strain at a gnat and swallow a camel etc. (caprice) 608; put the cart before the horse; lock the stable door when the horse is stolen etc. (too late) 135.    not know what one is about, not know one's own interest, not know on which side one's bread is buttered; stand in one's own light, quarrel with one's bread and butter, throw a stone in one's own garden, kill the goose which lays the golden eggs, pay dear for one's whistle, cut one's own throat, bum one's fingers; knock one's head against a stone wall, beat one's head against a stone wall; fall into a trap, catch a Tartar, bring the house about one's ears; have too many eggs in one basket (imprudent) 863, have too many irons in the fire.    mistake etc. 495; take the shadow for the substance etc. (credulity) 486; bark up the wrong tree; be in the wrong box, aim at a pigeon and kill a crow; take the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong sow by the ear, get the dirty end of the stick; put the saddle on the wrong horse, put a square peg into a round hole, put new wine into old bottles.    cut blocks with a razor; hold a farthing candle to the sun etc. (useless) 645; fight with a shadow, grasp at a shadow; catch at straws, lean on a broken reed, reckon without one's host, pursue a wild goose chase; go on a fool's goose chase, sleeveless errand; go further and fare worse; lose one's way, miss one's way; fail etc. 732.    ... show more