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wrong

adjective · adverb · noun · verb

Simple meaning

Asserting something incorrect or untrue.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rawng
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹɔŋ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Asserting something incorrect or untrue.

  2. Not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth

  3. Immoral, not good, bad.

  4. Not working; out of order.

  5. Designed to be worn or placed inward

  6. Improper; unfit; unsuitable.

adverb

  1. informal

    In a way that isn't right; incorrectly, wrongly.

noun

  1. Something that is immoral or not good.

  2. An instance of wronging someone (sometimes with possessive to indicate the wrongdoer).

  3. The opposite of right; the concept of badness.

  4. The incorrect or unjust position or opinion.

verb

  1. To deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice.

  2. To slander; to impute evil to unjustly.

  3. To treat unjustly; to injure or harm; to do wrong by.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Asserting something incorrect or untrue.

Used this way, wrong is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use wrong

  • “It is wrong for the rich to take advantage of the poor.”adjective
  • “It is wrong to think that way.”adjective
  • “He feels that you are in the wrong.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

wrong sidewrong placewrong direction

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • wronglyadverbDerived adverb

    Without justice or fairness.

  • wrongfullyadverbDerived adverb

    In an unjust or unfair manner.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • wrong 'unnounCompound term

    A cricket ball bowled as if to break one way that actually breaks in the opposite way.

  • wrong-site surgerynounCompound term

    A surgical operation performed on the wrong part of the body.

  • sense of right and wrongnounCompound term

    Motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions.

  • go wrongverbCompound term

    Be unsuccessful.

  • civil wrongnounCompound term

    Any wrongdoing for which an action for damages may be brought.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

adjective

Sense: asserting something incorrect or untrue

falseamiss

adverb

Sense: in a way that isn't right

amissArchaic

Antonyms

Sense: in a way that isn't right

rightaright

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.