malfeasance

Advancedzipf 2.60

Pronunciation

/mælˈfiːzəns/(mal-FEE-zuns)

Part of speech

nounformal

Chinese

渎职；不法行为（尤指公职人员的违法行为）

Definition

Wrongdoing or illegal activity, especially by a public official.

Word family

  • malfeasant/mælˈfiːzənt/(adj/n)渎职的/渎职者

Collocations

  • corporate malfeasance
  • government malfeasance
  • financial malfeasance
  • accused of malfeasance

Examples

  1. 1.The mayor was removed from office for malfeasance. (official wrongdoing)
  2. 2.The audit uncovered widespread financial malfeasance within the company. (illegal conduct)

Synonyms

  • misconduct/ˌmɪsˈkɒndʌkt/— improper behavior
  • corruption/kəˈrʌpʃən/— dishonest abuse of power
  • wrongdoing/ˈrɒŋduːɪŋ/— illegal or unethical behavior

Etymology

from Old French "malfaisance" — mal- (evil) + faisance (doing) — evil-doing