What does "amiss" mean?

Amiss: To take (an act, thing) amiss, to impute a wrong motive to (an act or thing); to take offense at' to take unkindly; as, you must not take these questions amiss.

Additional senses

2.Wrong; faulty; out of order; improper; as, it may not be amiss to ask advice. Note: [Used only in the predicate.] Dryden. His wisdom and virtue can not always rectify that which is amiss in himself or his circumstances. Wollaston.
3.A fault, wrong, or mistake. [Obs.] Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss. Shak.

Sources

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00