Wrong
WordNet
adjective
(1) Not appropriate for a purpose or occasion
"Unsuitable attire for the office"
"Said all the wrong things"
(2) Not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
"An incorrect calculation"
"The report in the paper is wrong"
"Your information is wrong"
"The clock showed the wrong time"
"Found themselves on the wrong road"
"Based on the wrong assumptions"
(3) Based on or acting or judging in error
"It is wrong to think that way"
(4) Badly timed
"An ill-timed intervention"
"You think my intrusion unseasonable"
"An untimely remark"
"It was the wrong moment for a joke"
(5) Used of the side of cloth or clothing intended to face inward
"Socks worn wrong side out"
(6) Not in accord with established usage or procedure
"The wrong medicine"
"The wrong way to shuck clams"
(7) Contrary to conscience or morality or law
"It is wrong for the rich to take advantage of the poor"
"Cheating is wrong"
"It is wrong to lie"
adverb
(8) In an incorrect manner
"She guessed wrong"
noun
(9) Any harm or injury resulting from a violation of a legal right
(10) That which is contrary to the principles of justice or law
"He feels that you are in the wrong"
verb
(11) Treat unjustly; do wrong to
WiktionaryText
Adjective
- Incorrect or untrue.
- Some of your answers were correct, and some were wrong.
- 1592: William Shakespeare, Richard III; Act II, Scene I, line 54. — Among this princely heap, if any here By false intelligence or wrong surmise Hold me a foe...
- Asserting something incorrect or untrue.
- You're wrong: he's not Superman at all.
- Immoral, not good, bad.
- It is wrong to lie.
- Improper; unfit; unsuitable.
- A bikini is the wrong thing to wear on a cold day.
- Not working; out of order.
- Something is wrong with my cellphone.
- Designed to be worn or placed inward; as, the wrong side of a garment or of a piece of cloth
Usage notes
and are preferred in contemporary English. and are currently often used for comedic effect, but were used by Shakespeare in full earnest.Synonyms
- injurious
- unjust
- faulty
- detrimental
- unfit
- unsuitable
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
- In a way that isn't right; done incorrectly; wrongly.
- I spelled several names wrong in my address book.
Noun
- Something that is immoral or not good.
- Injustice is a heinous wrong.
- The incorrect or unjust position or opinion. (Or is it the wronged?)
- 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.
- The opposite of right; something which is wrong, particularly injustice.
- 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.
Verb
- To treat unjustly; to injure or harm.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.