wrong
UK /ˈɹɒŋ/ · US /ˈɹɔŋ/ adjective, adverb, noun, verb
Forms wrongs wronging wronged
- adjective Incorrect or untrue. “Some of your answers were correct, and some were wrong.”
- adjective Asserting something incorrect or untrue. “You're wrong: he's not Superman at all.”
- adjective Immoral, not good, bad. “It is wrong to lie.”
- adjective Improper; unfit; unsuitable. “A bikini is the wrong thing to wear on a cold day.”
- adjective Not working; out of order. “Something is wrong with my cellphone.”
- adjective (clothing) Designed to be worn or placed inward.
- adjective Twisted; wry. “a wrong nose”
- adverb (informal) In a way that isn't right; incorrectly, wrongly. “I spelled several names wrong in my address book.”
- noun Something that is immoral or not good. “Injustice is a heinous wrong.”
- noun An instance of wronging someone (sometimes with possessive to indicate the wrongdoer).
- noun The incorrect or unjust position or opinion.
- noun The opposite of right; the concept of badness.
- verb To treat unjustly; to injure or harm; to do wrong by. “The dealer wronged us by selling us this lemon of a car.”
- verb To deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice.
- verb To slander; to impute evil to unjustly.
Synonyms
back injurious unjust faulty detrimental unfit unsuitable false depravity iniquity sin atrocity infamy outrage turpitude wickedness hardship sorrow wrongdoing crime wrongfulness legal injury damage incorrect improper amiss awry haywire ill-timed unseasonable
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English wrong, from Old English wrang (“wrong, twisted, uneven”), from Old Norse rangr, vrangr (“crooked, wrong”), from Proto-Germanic *wrangaz (“crooked, twisted, turned awry”), from Proto-Indo-European *werḱ-, *wrengʰ- (“to twist, weave, tie together”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Scots wrang (“wrong”), Danish vrang (“wrong, crooked”), Swedish vrång (“perverse, distorted”), Icelandic rangur (“wrong”), Norwegian Nynorsk rang (“wrong”), Dutch wrang (“bitter, sour”) and the first element in the mythic Old Frisian city of Rungholt (“crooked wood”). More at wring.
Webster’s 1913
- imp. of Wring. Wrung. Chaucer.
- adjective Twisted; wry; as, a wrong nose. [Obs.] Wyclif (Lev. xxi. 19).
- adjective Not according to the laws of good morals, whether divine or human; not suitable to the highest and best end; not morally right; deviating from rectitude or duty; not just or equitable; not true; not legal; as, a wrong practice; wrong ideas; wrong inclinations and desires.
- adverb In a wrong manner; not rightly; amiss; morally ill; erroneously; wrongly.
Etymology [OE. wrong, wrang, a. & n., AS. wrang, n.; originally, awry, wrung, fr. wringan to wring; akin to D. wrang bitter, Dan. vrang wrong, Sw. vrång, Icel. rangr awry, wrong. See Wring.]
Etymology [AS. wrang. See Wrong, a.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “wrong”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details