wrong
n. C / Un. an action that is unfair, dishonest, or bad. It is something that goes against what is morally right or against the law.
n. an instance of unjust, dishonest, or immoral behavior; an injurious or illegal act. Often used in legal or moral contexts to describe a violation of rights.
He knows the difference between right and wrong.
The lawyer argued that his client had committed no legal wrong during the business merger.
The philosopher spent his career examining whether a single wrong could ever be justified if it resulted in a greater good for the majority of society.
From Middle English wrong, from Old English wrang (“wrong, twisted, uneven”), from Old Norse rangr, vrangr (“crooked, wrong”), from Proto-Germanic wrangaz (“crooked, twisted, turned awry”), from Proto-Indo-European werḱ-, wrengʰ- (“to twist, weave, tie together”), from wer- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Scots wrang (“wrong”), Danish vrang (“wrong, crooked”), Swedish vrång (“perverse, distorted”), Icelandic rangur (“wrong”), Norwegian Nynorsk rang (“wrong”), Dutch wrang (“bitter, sour”) and the first element in the mythic Old Frisian city of Rungholt (“crooked wood”). More at wring.
Often used in the singular to refer to the abstract concept of immorality, or as a countable noun when referring to specific unfair acts.
- 01
bark up the wrong tree
To take the wrong approach to a situation; to follow a false lead; to attempt to solve a problem using mistaken assumptions about its true nature.
- 02
do somebody wrong
To treat someone badly or unfairly.
- 03
fall into the wrong hands
To become the possession of, or be discovered by, an unfriendly third party.