What does "wrong" mean?
Wrong: Twisted; wry; as, a wrong nose. [Obs.] Wyclif (Lev. xxi. 19).
Additional senses
- 2.Not according to the laws of good morals, whether divine or human; not suitable to the highest and best end; not morally right; deviating from rectitude or duty; not just or equitable; not true; not legal; as, a wrong practice; wrong ideas; wrong inclinations and desires.
- 3.Not fit or suitable to an end or object; not appropriate for an intended use; not according to rule; unsuitable; improper; incorrect; as, to hold a book with the wrong end uppermost; to take the wrong way. I have deceived you both; I have directed you to wrong places. Shak.
- 4.Not according to truth; not conforming to fact or intent; not right; mistaken; erroneous; as, a wrong statement.
- 5.Designed to be worn or placed inward; as, the wrong side of a garment or of a piece of cloth.
- 6.In a wrong manner; not rightly; amiss; morally ill; erroneously; wrongly. Ten censure wrong for one that writes amiss. Pope.
- 7.That which is not right. Specifically: (a) Nonconformity or disobedience to lawful authority, divine or human; deviation from duty; -- the opposite of moral Ant: right. When I had wrong and she the right. Chaucer. One spake much of right and wrong. Milton. (b) Deviation or departure from truth or fact; state of falsity; error; as, to be in the wrong. (c) Whatever deviates from moral rectitude; usually, an act that involves evil consequences, as one which inflicts injury on a person; any injury done to, or received from; another; a trespass; a violation of right. Friend, I do thee no wrong. Matt. xx.
- 8.As the king of England can do no wrong, so neither can he do right but in his courts and by his courts. Milton. The obligation to redress a wrong is at least as binding as that of paying a debt. E. Evereth. Note: Wrongs, legally, are private or public. Private wrongs are civil injuries, immediately affecting individuals; public wrongs are crimes and misdemeanors which affect the community. Blackstone.
- 9.To treat with injustice; to deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice from; to do undeserved harm to; to deal unjustly with; to injure. He that sinneth . . . wrongeth his own soul. Prov. viii.
- 10.2. To impute evil to unjustly; as, if you suppose me capable of a base act, you wrong me. I rather choose To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, Than I will wrong such honorable men. 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