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M — Miscegenation to Misdo (Part 5 of 6)

Miscreated
(Mis`cre*at"ed) a. Formed unnaturally or illegitimately; deformed. Spenser. Milton.

Miscreative
(Mis`cre*a"tive), a. Creating amiss. [R.]

Miscredent
(Mis*cre"dent) n. [Pref. mis- + credent. Cf. Miscreant.] A miscreant, or believer in a false religious doctrine. [Obs.] Holinshed.

Miscredulity
(Mis`cre*du"li*ty) n. Wrong credulity or belief; misbelief. Bp. Hall.

Miscue
(Mis*cue") n. (Billiards) A false stroke with a billiard cue, the cue slipping from the ball struck without impelling it as desired.

Misdate
(Mis*date"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misdated; p. pr. & vb. n. Misdating.] To date erroneously. Young.

Misdeal
(Mis*deal") v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Misdealt ; p. pr. & vb. n. Misdealing.] To deal or distribute wrongly, as cards; to make a wrong distribution.

Misdeal
(Mis*deal"), n. The act of misdealing; a wrong distribution of cards to the players.

Misdeed
(Mis*deed") n. [AS. misd&aemacrd. See Deed, n.] An evil deed; a wicked action.

Evils which our own misdeeds have wrought.
Milton.

Syn. — Misconduct; misdemeanor; fault; offense; trespass; transgression; crime.

Misdeem
(Mis*deem") v. t. To misjudge. [Obs.] Milton.

Misdemean
(Mis`de*mean") v. t. To behave ill; — with a reflexive pronoun; as, to misdemean one's self.

Misdemeanant
(Mis`de*mean"ant) n. One guilty of a misdemeanor. Sydney Smith.

Misdemeanor
(Mis`de*mean"or) n.

1. Ill behavior; evil conduct; fault. Shak.

2. (Law) A crime less than a felony. Wharton.

As a rule, in the old English law, offenses capitally punishable were felonies; all other indictable offenses were misdemeanors. In common usage, the word crime is employed to denote the offenses of a deeper and more atrocious dye, while small faults and omissions of less consequence are comprised under the gentler name of misdemeanors. Blackstone.

The distinction, however, between felonies and misdemeanors is purely arbitrary, and is in most jurisdictions either abrogated or so far reduced as to be without practical value. Cf. Felony. Wharton.

Syn. — Misdeed; misconduct; misbehavior; fault; trespass; transgression.

Misdempt
(Mis*dempt") obs. p. p. of Misdeem. Spenser.

Misdepart
(Mis`de*part") v. t. To distribute wrongly. [Obs.]

He misdeparteth riches temporal.
Chaucer.

Misderive
(Mis`de*rive") v. t.

1. To turn or divert improperly; to misdirect. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.