misappropriate
/'misə'proupri'eiʃn/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To take or use something, especially money or property, dishonestly or for a purpose other than its intended one. It implies a breach of trust, where something entrusted to a person's care is used fraudulently for their own benefit.
Usage and Examples
- Verb:
- The treasurer was accused of trying to misappropriate the club's funds for personal vacations.
- He misappropriated the research grant to buy a new car instead of laboratory equipment.
- The investigation revealed that the charity director had misappropriated donations over several years.
Advanced Usage
- "to misappropriate funds/assets": A common collocation specifying what was taken dishonestly.
- The CEO was charged with misappropriating corporate assets.
- "grossly misappropriate": Using "grossly" emphasizes the scale or egregious nature of the act.
- The official was found to have grossly misappropriated public money.
Variants and Related Words
- Misappropriation (n): The act or instance of misappropriating.
- The misappropriation of funds led to the organization's collapse.
- Embezzle (v): A close synonym, specifically meaning to steal money placed in one's trust (often used in a business context).
- He was convicted for embezzling from the company.
- Defalcate (v): A formal term meaning to misappropriate funds; to embezzle.
Synonyms
- Embezzle: To steal (money or goods) entrusted to one's care.
- Peculate: To embezzle or steal (public funds, especially by a public official).
- Defalcate: To misappropriate funds; to embezzle.
- Pilfer: To steal (typically small amounts or things of little value).
Related Phrases and Idioms
- To have one's hand in the till/cookie jar: An informal idiom meaning to steal money from the place where one works.
- The manager was caught with his hand in the till.
- Cooking the books: An informal phrase for falsifying financial records, often to conceal misappropriation.
- The accountant was cooking the books to hide the misappropriated funds.
Verb
- appropriate (as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use
- The accountant embezzled thousands of dollars while working for the wealthy family