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wrong

Pronunciation: /rɒŋ/
Translate wrong | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of wrong

adjective

  • 1not correct or true; incorrect:that is the wrong answer
  • [predic.] having judged incorrectly; mistaken:I was wrong about him being on the yacht that evening
  • unsuitable or undesirable:the doctor may regard the patient’s decision as wrong
  • [predic.] in a bad or abnormal condition; amiss:something was wrong with the pump
  • 2unjust, dishonest, or immoral:that was wrong of me [with infinitive]:they were wrong to take the law into their own hands

adverb

  • in an unsuitable or undesirable manner or direction:what am I doing wrong?
  • with an incorrect result:she guessed wrong

noun

  • an unjust, dishonest, or immoral act:I have done you a great wrong [mass noun]:I was trying to teach my children right from wrong

verb

[with object]
  • act unjustly or dishonestly towards:they would kill a man who wronged a family
  • mistakenly attribute bad motives to; misrepresent:perhaps I wrong him

Phrases

do wrong

commit an unjust, dishonest, or immoral act:they admit she has done wrong, but believe the punishment is too harsh

do someone wrong

treat someone unjustly:he sought revenge against those who had done him wrong

fall (or get) into the wrong hands

(of information or an object) be stolen, or be found by an unfriendly person:this is a private letter that fell into the wrong hands

get someone wrong

misunderstand someone, especially by falsely ascribing malice to them:now, don’t get me wrong, my fellow players are a great bunch of people

get (hold of) the wrong end of the stick

British misunderstand something.

go down the wrong way

informal (of food) enter the windpipe instead of the gullet.

go wrong

make a mistake.
(of a device) malfunction; develop a fault.
develop in an undesirable way:whenever things went wrong she would blame us

in the wrong

responsible for a quarrel, mistake, or offence: who was in the wrong?

on the wrong side of

  • 1out of favour with:she knew not to get on the wrong side of him
  • 2somewhat more than (a specified age):he cheerfully admits he is the wrong side of fifty

the wrong way round

in the opposite of the normal or desirable orientation, direction, or sequence: the batteries were in the wrong way round

two wrongs don't make a right

proverb the fact that someone has done something unjust or dishonest is no justification for acting in a similar way.

Derivatives

wronger

noun

wrongly

adverb

wrongness

noun

Origin:

late Old English wrang, from Old Norse rangr 'awry, unjust'; related to wring

wrong in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of wrong in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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