Misrule
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The state of being ruled badly; disorder, lawlessness, anarchy. countable, uncountable
"They followed their leader in regular procession, and the motley characters, which had waited his arrival, now crowded into the church in his train, shouting as they came,—“A hall, a hall! for the venerable Father Howleglas, the learned Monk of Misrule, and the Right Reverend Abbot of Unreason!”"
- 2 government that is inefficient or dishonest wordnet
- 3 Misgovernment; bad or unjust government. countable, uncountable
"But in the recent past, there had been plenty of accusations and instances of Henry's oppressive misrule, of which the execution of the earl of Warwick, Suffolk's cousin, was the most recent and emphatic example."
- 1 Of a trial judge, to make a bad decision in court.
- 2 To rule badly; to misgovern.
Example
More examples"They followed their leader in regular procession, and the motley characters, which had waited his arrival, now crowded into the church in his train, shouting as they came,—“A hall, a hall! for the venerable Father Howleglas, the learned Monk of Misrule, and the Right Reverend Abbot of Unreason!”"
Etymology
From Middle English mysrule; equivalent to mis- + rule.
Related phrases
More for "misrule"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.