Improperly

//ɪmˈpɹɑ.pɚ.li// adv

adv ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    In an improper manner; not properly.

    "Prosecutors also said Wednesday their side “does not intend to reference allegations that the defendant violated FARA or improperly coordinated with the Obama Administration,” referring to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people who lobby on behalf of foreign clients to register beforehand with the US government."

Adverb
  1. 1
    in an improper way wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
abominablyagonizinglyamissawfullyawrybadly

Example

More examples

"They vote in secret, may seek public office, and may demand the removal of public officials who behave improperly."

Etymology

From Middle English improprelich, impropreliche, impropurly, inproperlye; equivalent to improper + -ly or im- + properly.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.