What does wrongdoing mean?
Wrongdoing means conduct that is wrong according to moral, ethical, social, or legal standards. It can refer to a single improper act, though it is more commonly used for a course of behavior involving dishonesty, abuse, or violation of rules. The term is especially common in legal reporting, corporate investigations, political discussion, and moral or religious commentary. Unlike words such as error, which often imply an accidental mistake, wrongdoing carries a deliberate or culpable connotation, although the word itself does not always establish whether an act was intentional. Its broadness allows it to apply to conduct judged by secular law, formal rules, or a community’s ethical standards. For example, financial wrongdoing may involve fraud or falsifying records, while moral wrongdoing may refer more broadly to dishonesty, exploitation, or harm to others. The word is also useful when the speaker wishes to identify behavior as improper without specifying a particular crime or making the final judgment.
nounAn act or pattern of conduct that violates moral, ethical, social, or legal standards. The word usually refers to wrongful behavior rather than an innocent mistake or misfortune.
- Behavior or an act that is morally, ethically, socially, or legally wrong.
"The charity dismissed the director after an investigation found clear evidence of financial wrongdoing."
"Regulators opened an inquiry into alleged financial wrongdoing by the company."
"The historical novel examines moral wrongdoing within a seemingly respectable community."
Rare. The usual form is uncountable; the plural is used when several distinct wrongful acts are being counted or discussed.
"The novel portrays the community's different wrongdoings as symptoms of a wider social failure."
Wrongdoing puts the moral judgment directly on the action: it names not merely a bad thought, but a bad deed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does wrongdoing come from?
Wrongdoing is a compound formed in Middle English from the adjective wrong and the verbal noun doing. The adjective wrong descends from Old English wrang, while do descends from Old English dōn. The compound originally denoted an action or deed that was wrong and later came to encompass misconduct more broadly; related formations include wrongdoer, meaning a person who commits wrongdoing.
Related word forms
How wrongdoing is actually used
The word is common in formal and neutral-to-negative contexts, including discussions of ethics, law, business, religion, and institutional discipline. It is usually treated as an uncountable mass noun.
Easily confused with wrongdoing
Wrongdoing is the wrongful conduct itself, whereas a wrongdoer is a person who commits it.