Misfeasances

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An act that is incorrect or improper in the execution of a legal duty or a task that one is authorized to perform; a form of wrongful conduct by a public official in the performance of their roles; the occurrence of performing a lawful act in an unlawful manner, resulting in harm or injury to another party
2. The commission of an improper act that occurs during the execution of a legal duty, leading to adverse consequences; a specific type of misconduct where an official handles their responsibilities incorrectly; the performance of legitimate actions in a negligent or flawed way, causing damage or loss
3. The execution of a lawful act in a way that is faulty or unlawful, leading to negative repercussions; an instance where a person in authority performs their duties improperly, violating their responsibilities; the result of carrying out a permitted action in a careless or erroneous manner, thus causing harm or detriment

Etymology: "Misfeasances" is the plural of "misfeasance," a legal term for the improper performance of a lawful act, as distinct from doing something outright forbidden. The noun's root is the Old French prefix "mes-," meaning "wrongly" or "badly," joined to "faisance," a noun from "faire," "to do." Together they describe doing one's proper task in a faulty way. English borrowed the word from Middle French "mesfaisance," and it has stayed largely within legal and administrative language, where the distinction matters. A lawyer or auditor might separate misfeasance, the wrongful doing of a permitted act, from malfeasance, an act that is unlawful in itself, and from nonfeasance, the failure to act at all. The plural simply counts such incidents, as when a report lists several misfeasances by an official over a term in office.

Synonyms: wrongdoings, malfeasances