misdemeanor

• misdemeanour (UK)

From mis- +‎ demeanor.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌmɪsdɪˈmiːnə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mis‧de‧mean‧or

misdemeanor (plural misdemeanors) (American spelling)

1. (criminal law, historical in UK) A lesser criminal act in most common law legal systems, generally punished less severely than a felony.

   Coordinate term: felony

   Synonym: petty crime

2. Any act of misbehavior.

   Synonyms: delinquency, misdeed, wrongdoing; see also Thesaurus:misdeed

   • Quoted in 2002, The Collected Clinical Works of Alfred Adler (page 32)

     Because of the mother's lack of affection and the judgments made by everybody around her, the child is in opposition to everybody. Her misdemeanors may be partly the expression of her inner revolt.