Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Wrong

Wrong

,
obs.
imp.
of
Wring
. Wrung.
Chaucer.

Wrong

(?; 115)
,
Adj.
[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
.]
1.
Twisted; wry;
as, a
wrong
nose
.
[Obs.]
Wyclif (Lev. xxi. 19).
2.
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.
3.
Not fit or suitable to an end or object; not appropriate for an intended use; not according to rule; unsuitable; improper; incorrect;
as, to hold a book with the
wrong
end uppermost; to take the
wrong
way.
I have deceived you both; I have directed you to
wrong
places.
Shakespeare
4.
Not according to truth; not conforming to fact or intent; not right; mistaken; erroneous;
as, a
wrong
statement
.
5.
Designed to be worn or placed inward;
as, the
wrong
side of a garment or of a piece of cloth
.
Syn. – Injurious; unjust; faulty; detrimental; incorrect; erroneous; unfit; unsuitable.

Wrong

,
adv.
In a wrong manner; not rightly; amiss; morally ill; erroneously; wrongly.
Ten censure
wrong
for one that writes amiss.
Pope.

Wrong

,
Noun.
[AS.
wrang
. See
Wrong
,
Adj.
]
That which is not right.
Specifically:
(a)
Nonconformity or disobedience to lawful authority, divine or human; deviation from duty; – the opposite of moral
right
.
When I had
wrong
and she the right.
Chaucer.
One spake much of right and
wrong
.
Milton.
(b)
Deviation or departure from truth or fact; state of falsity; error;
as, to be in the
wrong
.
(c)
Whatever deviates from moral rectitude; usually, an act that involves evil consequences, as one which inflicts injury on a person; any injury done to, or received from; another; a trespass; a violation of right.
Friend, I do thee no
wrong
.
Matt. xx. 18.
As the king of England can do no
wrong
, so neither can he do right but in his courts and by his courts.
Milton.
The obligation to redress a
wrong
is at least as binding as that of paying a debt.
E. Evereth.
☞ Wrongs, legally, are private or public. Private wrongs are civil injuries, immediately affecting individuals; public wrongs are crimes and misdemeanors which affect the community.
Blackstone.

Wrong

(?; 115)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Wronged
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Wronging
.]
1.
To treat with injustice; to deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice from; to do undeserved harm to; to deal unjustly with; to injure.
He that sinneth . . .
wrongeth
his own soul.
Prov. viii. 36.
2.
To impute evil to unjustly;
as, if you suppose me capable of a base act, you
wrong
me
.
I rather choose
To
wrong
the dead, to
wrong
myself and you,
Than I will
wrong
such honorable men.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Wrong

WRONG

,
Adj.
Literally wrung, twisted or turned from a straight line or even surface. Hence,
1.
Not physically right; not fit or suitable; as the wrong side of a garment. You hold the book the wrong end uppermost. There may be something wrong in the construction of a watch or an edifice.
2.
Not morally right; that deviates from the line of rectitude prescribed by God; not just or equitable; not right or proper; not legal; erroneous; as a wrong practice; wrong ideas; a wrong course of life; wrong measures; wrong inclinations and desires; a wrong application of talents; wrong judgment. Habakkuk 1.
3.
Erroneous; not according to truth; as a wrong statement.

WRONG

,
Noun.
Whatever deviates from moral rectitude; any injury done to another; a trespass; a violation of right. Wrongs are private or public. Private wrongs are civil injuries, immediately affecting individuals; public wrongs are crimes and misdemeanors which affect the community.
Sarai said to Abraham, my wrong be on thee. Genesis 16.
Friend, I do thee no wrong. Matthew 20.
The obligation to redress a wrong, is at least as binding as that of paying a debt.

WRONG

,
adv.
Not rightly; amiss; morally ill; erroneously.
Ten censure wrong for one that writes amiss.

WRONG

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To injure; to treat with injustice; to deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice from. We wrong a man, when we defraud him, and when we trespass on his property. We wrong a man, when we neglect to pay him his due. Philemon 18.
2.
To do injustice to by imputation; to impute evil unjustly. If you suppose me capable of a base act, you wrong me.

Definition 2024

wrong

wrong

English

Adjective

wrong ‎(comparative more wrong or wronger, superlative most wrong or wrongest)

  1. Incorrect or untrue.
    Some of your answers were correct, and some were wrong.
    • 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act II, Scene I:
      Among this princely heap, if any here / By false intelligence or wrong surmise / Hold me a foe […]
  2. Asserting something incorrect or untrue.
    You're wrong: he's not Superman at all.
  3. Immoral, not good, bad.
    It is wrong to lie.
  4. Improper; unfit; unsuitable.
    A bikini is the wrong thing to wear on a cold day.
  5. Not working; out of order.
    Something is wrong with my cellphone.
    Don't cry, honey. Tell me what's wrong.
  6. Designed to be worn or placed inward; as, the wrong side of a garment or of a piece of cloth.
  7. (obsolete) Twisted; wry.
    a wrong nose
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif Bible (Leviticus xxi. 19) to this entry?)

Usage notes

  • The single-word comparative and superlative forms wronger and wrongest are no longer in common use, except humorously; rather, the locutions “more wrong” and “most wrong” are preferred.
  • When wrong is used attributively, before a noun, the noun is usually treated as definite, using the article the; hence, for example, one says, “I dialed the wrong number”, “he gave the wrong answer”, and “she took the wrong approach”, even though there are many possible wrong numbers, answers, and approaches, of which only one was dialed, given, or taken.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Antonyms

Translations

Quotations

  • 2007 January 3, Ken Miller, “The Collapse of Intelligent Design: Will the next Monkey Trial be in Ohio?”, Case Western University, Strosacker Auditorium
    that statement is wrong. Now that's not an incidental statement, that is the heart and soul of the Intelligent Design argument, and in this case it turns out to be wrong. Now it's even wronger than that [laughter] because it turns out that not only do these proteins make up the Type-III Secretory Apparatus but almost every protein in the bacerial flagellum is strongly homologous to proteins that have other functions elsewhere in the cell.

Adverb

wrong ‎(comparative more wrong, superlative most wrong)

  1. (informal) In a way that isn't right; incorrectly, wrongly.
    I spelled several names wrong in my address book.

Translations

Noun

wrong ‎(plural wrongs)

  1. Something that is immoral or not good.
    Injustice is a heinous wrong.
  2. An instance of wronging someone (sometimes with possessive to indicate the wrongdoer).
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Dowland:
      Can she excuse my wrongs with Virtue's cloak? Shall I call her good when she proves unkind?
  3. The incorrect or unjust position or opinion.
    • 1592, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III, Act IV, Scene I, line 101. — I blame not her: she could say little less; She had the wrong.
  4. The opposite of right; the concept of badness.
    • 1607, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act IV, Scene III, line 28. — Thus much of this will make Black white, foul fair, wrong right, Base noble, old young, coward valiant.

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

wrong ‎(third-person singular simple present wrongs, present participle wronging, simple past and past participle wronged)

  1. To treat unjustly; to injure or harm.
    • The dealer wronged us by selling us this lemon of a car.
    • 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part I, Act II, Scene IV, line 109. — Thou dost then wrong me, as that slaughterer doth Which giveth many wounds when one will kill.
  2. To deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice.
    • 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II, Act IV, Scene I, line 121. — ... And might by no suit gain our audience. When we are wrong'd and would unfold our griefs, We are denied access unto his person Even by those men that most have done us wrong.
  3. To slander; to impute evil to unjustly.
    • 1598, William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene II, line 121. — O masters! if I were dispos'd to stir Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, Who (you all know) are honorable men. I will not do them wrong; I rather choose To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, Than I will wrong such honorable men.

Translations

Derived terms

See also

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: trouble · die · arm · #645: wrong · afraid · merely · struck

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /vrɔŋ/
  • Rhymes: -ɔŋ

Noun

wrong m ‎(plural wrongen, diminutive wrongetje n)

  1. (heraldry) wreath, a ring made of two strips of cloth intertwined used on top of helmets to soften any blow

Verb

wrong

  1. singular past indicative of wringen

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-, *werǵ-, *wrengʰ- ‎(“to twist, weave, tie together”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‎(“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Scots wrang ‎(“wrong”), Danish vrang ‎(“wrong, crooked”), Swedish vrång ‎(“perverse, distorted”), Icelandic rangur ‎(“wrong”), Dutch wrang ‎(“bitter, sour”) and the name of the mythic Old Frisian city of Rungholt ‎(“crooked wood”). More at wring.

Pronunciation

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