as in stealing
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
a financial manager misappropriating funds from her clients' accounts
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Recent Examples of misappropriating
Hancock said that even as much of the misinformation online still comes through more traditional avenues, such as people misappropriating real media to paint false narratives, AI is rapidly dumping more fuel on the fire.
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Angela Yang, NBC news, 9 Jan. 2026
On Thursday morning, Meagan Emily McFadden pleaded no contest to a felony charge of misappropriating public money.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 8 Jan. 2026
The federal indictment accuses Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother of misappropriating $5 million in FEMA relief funds that were meant for COVID-19 response, according to CBS 12.
—Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025
Wilson then countersued her producers, accusing them of misappropriating $900,000 in Australian currency and expanding on the claim that The Deb star Charlotte MacInnes came to Wilson with an allegation about Ghost, which Wilson was later punished for reporting.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Nov. 2025
Hulu’s depiction of Alex Murdaugh’s engagement in extensive financial fraud – including embezzling funds from his own law firm, misappropriating client money and committing insurance fraud – are well-documented and formed a key part of the investigations leading up to his criminal trials.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 22 Nov. 2025
In the 2025 case related to the letters he is accused of sending from jail, Scott is charged with one count of misappropriating a person's identity to harm their reputation, intimidating a witness, and two counts of felony bail jumping.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
In corroborating much of the testimony Pentagon intelligence official David Grusch offered in July 2023, Elizondo also accused the Department of Defense of hiding its UFO programs from Congress while misappropriating funds to operate them.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
The Bar’s audit accused Hernandez of misappropriating anywhere from $169,000 to $381,000, and the Bar successfully requested Hernandez receive an emergency suspension.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misappropriating
stealing
Verb
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Bregman played his first nine seasons with the Houston Astros, winning World Series titles in 2017 and 2022 — although the first of those yielded a sign-stealing scandal that earned Bregman and his teammates plenty of scorn.—
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Jacob Elordi is known for stealing hearts on and off-screen.—
Cite this Entry
“Misappropriating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misappropriating. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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