misenforce

M3I1S1E1N1F4O1R1C3E1

verb

To enforce incorrectly.

Scrabble 17

Meanings

verbmisenforce (third-person singular simple present misenforces, present participle misenforcing, simple past and past participle misenforced)

present singular third person misenforces · participle present misenforcing · participle past misenforced · past misenforced

  1. To enforce incorrectly.

    If they see something I missed, or if I misenforce a penalty or become confused, I encourage them to question me or point out my mistake.

    1989, Jerry Markbreit, Born to Referee, page 122
    3 more examples

    But exactly in proportion to his lofty estimate of law, when thus enforced and applied, he is indignant and jealous at any attempt to wrest or misenforce it:

    1864, Samuel Neil, “Forensic Eloquence”, in The British Controversialist and Literary Magazine, page 330

    Few legislators dare run for office on a platform proposing a solution; they know they would be powerless to accomplish anything if elected; someone else would misenforce the law.

    1935, The Commonwealth - Volumes 11-12, page 152

    This “victim” of the public fool [I mean school] system is legally and socially illiterate and makes a good “sheep” who is easy for the District Attorney (D.A.) to boss around and who will ignorantly misenforce the tax code so that he will maximize the government's take from the institutionalized plunder and theft called the income tax.

    2020, Family Guardian Fellowship, The Great IRS Hoax: Why We Don't Owe Income Tax, page 4-27

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

misenforce. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/misenforce

MLA

“misenforce.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/misenforce. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “misenforce,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/misenforce.

Source: misenforce on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.