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misappropriate

[mis-uh-proh-pree-ayt] / ˌmɪs əˈproʊ priˌeɪt /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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The most famous case involved the Gupta brothers—Ajay, Atul and Rajesh—who were accused of using ties to the ANC to engage in corruption and bribery to misappropriate state assets, according to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

There also are fears that the technology will steal jobs and that unethical players will misappropriate the intellectual property of companies, artists and ordinary people in the commercialization of their generative A.I. tools.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2023

Earlier this week, a Singapore court handed out prison sentences to two former Wirecard Asia Holdings employees for conspiring to misappropriate money.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2023

"It was wrong to misappropriate and disseminate Coinbase's property."

From Reuters ● Feb. 7, 2023

Guardians thus misappropriate the funds of their wards. 

From Lights and Shadows of New York Life or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City by James Dabney McCabe

But beneath the pamphlets of patients living out their days in comfort lies an uglier reality: a cottage industry that frequently misappropriates taxpayer dollars in the name of profit.

From Slate ● Jan. 17, 2023

The privacy policy of a website outlines the details of what kind of data that website collects, but it does not offer any real recourse if the website misappropriates the data.

From Encyclopedia.com ● Jun. 26, 2018

The government is not in charge of the church, and the church is not in charge of the government - no matter how badly either misappropriates law or Scripture.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 20, 2018

Conflating diversity with a box-ticking or virtue-signalling exercise misappropriates its true meaning, which, if done properly by genuinely diverse decision-makers, is always about excellence.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 11, 2018

"That sort of uncle is a monster; he misappropriates existence."

From The Magic Skin by Ellen Marriage

“Despite our finding that the money was misappropriated, we find insufficient evidence to charge anyone criminally,” the grand jury wrote.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

“I would have to say our investment in FTX,” Loeb replied, referring to the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency brokerage, which collapsed in 2022 after customer funds were found to be misappropriated.

From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026

They allege the remaining $1.7 billion was misappropriated by Raja.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, alleges that Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman misappropriated his $38 million donations when OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit and philanthropic mission to become the for-profit giant behind ChatGPT.

From Barron's ● May 12, 2026

“If you think you have any right to pry into her private affairs I’ll tell her you believe those checks are being misappropriated and you want an audit because you dont trust her.”

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

On Wednesday, Justice announced charges against four people in the L.A. area with misappropriating homeless funds for personal expenses, including PlayStation charges, luxury vacations, vintage car restorations, real estate and more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

In his lawsuit, Musk accuses OpenAI of betraying its original nonprofit mission and misappropriating his founding donations totalling $38 million to build an empire valued at over $850 billion.

From Barron's ● May 11, 2026

Amy Knox, the former chief operating officer of Harm Reduction-SD, was charged with three felony counts of misappropriating public money and three felony counts of embezzlement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

Last September, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Lopez and his partners, accusing them of running a Ponzi scheme, misleading investors and misappropriating $16.1 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

As Greystock had said, everybody was at law with him,—so successful had been his father in mismanaging, and miscontrolling, and misappropriating the property.

From The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope




Vocabulary lists containing misappropriate


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