mismanage

verb

mis·​man·​age ˌmis-ˈma-nij How to pronounce mismanage (audio)
mismanaged; mismanaging
Synonyms of mismanagenext

transitive verb

: to manage (something) wrongly or poorly
mismanage a business
… started thinking that maybe employees are sometimes mismanaged because they let themselves be mismanaged. They don't fight back.—A. J. Anderson
… even those professional Pollyannas who publicly find reason to praise the current municipal administration shake their heads in private and wonder how long we can go on deliberately mismanaging our affairs.—Brendan Gill
mismanagement
ˌmis-ˈma-nij-mənt How to pronounce mismanage (audio)
noun
plural mismanagements
financial mismanagement of the company

Synonyms of mismanage

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Examples of mismanage in a Sentence

the business was mismanaged so seriously that it eventually had to declare bankruptcy
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The mismanaged studios of the mid-1960s had no money to spend and no executives left to spend it. — Peter Bart, Deadline, 25 June 2026 So this also is a big, fat L for the Bears, which overplayed its hand and mismanaged the entire process, squandering all kinds of good will in the process. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 June 2026 But the regime has also mismanaged the economy for decades and worsened its wartime crisis with policies like an internet blackout that put more people out of work. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 15 June 2026 Founders often mismanage their crucial first sales hire, mistakenly seeking candidates suited for large corporations. — Kate Morgan, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for mismanage

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mismanage was in 1651

Rhymes for mismanage

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Browse Nearby Words

mismade
mismanage
mismanagement
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mismanage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mismanage. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

mismanage

verb
mis·​man·​age
(ˈ)mis-ˈman-ij
: to manage badly or improperly
mismanagement
-mənt
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on mismanage

Nglish: Translation of mismanage for Spanish Speakers

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