improper
not proper; not strictly belonging, applicable, correct, etc.; erroneous: He drew improper conclusions from the scant evidence.
not in accordance with propriety of behavior, manners, etc.: improper conduct at a funeral.
unsuitable or inappropriate, as for the purpose or occasion: improper attire for a formal dance.
abnormal or irregular: improper functioning of the speech mechanism.
Origin of improper
1synonym study For improper
Other words for improper
Opposites for improper
Other words from improper
- im·prop·er·ly, adverb
- im·prop·er·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use improper in a sentence
Ring reports to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission that it has received 85 incident reports involving use of improper screws, with 23 cases of ignition involving minor property damage and eight cases of minor personal burns.
Improperly installed Ring doorbells are catching on fire | Jim Salter | November 11, 2020 | Ars TechnicaIt alleges that poll workers in Maricopa County gave improper instructions to some residents who used voting machines, possibly causing votes to go uncounted.
Pa. attorney general says there’s no need for additional intervention by Supreme Court with mail ballots | Reis Thebault, Robert Barnes, Hannah Knowles | November 8, 2020 | Washington PostWatchdog groups have “meticulously cataloged” the ways regulators have “failed to safeguard the public from improper diversion of prescription opioids,” Walmart’s lawyers said in the 54-page complaint.
Walmart sues government to pre-empt allegations it helped fuel opioid crisis | kdunn6 | October 23, 2020 | FortuneTo put it in perspective, 297,000 die annually from diseases caused by improper sanitation.
The irreverent toilet paper startup that cleaned up during the pandemic lockdown | Rachel King | October 18, 2020 | FortuneLawhon says the problem is not just improper waste practices by visitors, but overwhelmed agencies struggling to keep up while maintaining pandemic-safe levels of staffing and operations.
National Parks are logging record crowds. Here’s how to visit safely. | Ula Chrobak | October 15, 2020 | Popular-Science
When used improperly those encouraging statistics take a nose dive.
Risky Business or None of Your Business? Gay XXX Films and the Condom Question | Aurora Snow | November 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDown syndrome and other chromosomal rearrangements are often accompanied by improperly functioning organs and immune systems.
Second, those who are getting injured by doing the exercises improperly often fall into one of three camps.
Unfortunately, medication can only do so much and has ill effects if used improperly, and medication is all I have to offer.
Doctors Can’t Prescribe a Magical Cure for Everything | Russell Saunders | March 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey call for Christians to reject the discovery because the “announcement may be improperly understood and reported.”
Evangelicals Still Don’t Know What to Do With the Big Bang | Karl W. Giberson | March 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Crown of Ireland had been most improperly described in public instruments as an imperial Crown.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayMen have frequently, improperly esteemed the exercise as one that should be had recourse to, only on some great emergency.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John CunninghamVoting must be performed carefully because a defaced, improperly marked ballot may be challenged and thrown out.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyThese four American animals have, therefore, very improperly been named tigers.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de BuffonThe names of ape and monkey, therefore, have been very improperly applied to the sapajous and the sagoins.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
British Dictionary definitions for improper
/ (ɪmˈprɒpə) /
lacking propriety; not seemly or fitting
unsuitable for a certain use or occasion; inappropriate: an improper use for a tool
irregular or abnormal
Derived forms of improper
- improperly, adverb
- improperness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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