Word of the Day Archive
Wednesday July 13, 2005
malfeasance \mal-FEE-zuhn(t)s\ , noun:
Wrongdoing, misconduct, or misbehavior, especially by a public official.
But more often than not the same board members who were removed by the chancellor for malfeasance subsequently manage to get reelected in a political process that defies any form of accountability.
-- Diane Ravitch and Joseph Viteritti, New Schools for a New Century
Cagney family conjecture was that Grandpop Nelson, with the temper of a dozen Furies, had likely committed some malfeasance in his native town forcing him to change his name when he left.
-- John McCabe, Cagney
Malfeasance is derived from Old French malfaisant, present participle of malfaire, "to do evil," from Latin malefacere, from male, "badly" + facere, "to do."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for malfeasance
