Misalliance

//ˌmɪsəˈlaɪəns// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An unsuitable alliance, especially an unsuitable marriage.

    "A misalliance is more shocking to a Frenchman than to an Englishman, and Talleyrand was very French in his appreciation of the importance of family, and in his insistence upon outward correctness of behaviour."

  2. 2
    an unsuitable alliance (especially with regard to marriage) wordnet

Example

More examples

"A misalliance is more shocking to a Frenchman than to an Englishman, and Talleyrand was very French in his appreciation of the importance of family, and in his insistence upon outward correctness of behaviour."

Etymology

From mis- + alliance, partly after French mésalliance.

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