misbegotten
adjective
mis·be·got·ten ˌmis-bi-ˈgä-tᵊn 
1
dated : unlawfully conceived : born to parents not married to each other
a misbegotten child
2
a
: having a disreputable or improper origin : ill-conceived
antiquated and misbegotten tax laws
R. M. Blough
R. M. Blough b
: contemptible
a misbegotten scoundrel
c
: deformed
The road brought you to a desert place among ruins, where was a door in a hillside, and hard by the door a misbegotten pine. Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Did you know?
In the beginning, there was begietan, and begietan begot beyeten; then in the days of Middle English beyeten begot begeten. All of the Old English and Middle English ancestors above basically meant the same thing as the modern beget—that is, "to father" or "to produce as an effect or outgrowth." That linguistic line with the prefix mis- (meaning "wrongly" or "badly") brought forth misbegotten.
Synonyms
- baseborn
- bastard
- illegitimate
- natural
- spurious
- supposititious
- unfathered
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a misbegotten child who never knew his father
Recent Examples on the Web This misbegotten decision provoked violent attacks against Jehovah’s Witnesses across the nation and elicited scorn from journalists and academics alike. Justin Driver, The Atlantic, 12 Aug. 2022 Anne seems to find this mutual disdain charming, but that doesn’t keep her from bonding with Wentworth when Louisa is concussed following a misbegotten attempt to earn Wentworth’s affection. Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 16 July 2022 This episode of What’s Ahead lays out why the move is utterly misbegotten. Steve Forbes, Forbes, 17 June 2022 This places a mark on the back of anyone who doesn’t fit their narrow, misbegotten notions of who belongs in America — which is, increasingly, to their fear and chagrin, most of us. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 May 2022 The story of these misbegotten investments was, at times, surreal. New York Times, 7 May 2022 The state is now embroiled in a lawsuit over the costs of undoing the misbegotten arrangement. Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2022 This misbegotten attempt to revisit that project proves that the opposite is just as true in equal measures. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2022 The Supreme Court created a legal mess with its misbegotten 5-4 McGirt ruling in 2020, and the complications keep coming. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 11 Apr. 2022 See More
Justin Driver, The Atlantic, 12 Aug. 2022 Anne seems to find this mutual disdain charming, but that doesn’t keep her from bonding with Wentworth when Louisa is concussed following a misbegotten attempt to earn Wentworth’s affection. Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 16 July 2022 This episode of What’s Ahead lays out why the move is utterly misbegotten. Steve Forbes, Forbes, 17 June 2022 This places a mark on the back of anyone who doesn’t fit their narrow, misbegotten notions of who belongs in America — which is, increasingly, to their fear and chagrin, most of us. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 May 2022 The story of these misbegotten investments was, at times, surreal. New York Times, 7 May 2022 The state is now embroiled in a lawsuit over the costs of undoing the misbegotten arrangement. Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2022 This misbegotten attempt to revisit that project proves that the opposite is just as true in equal measures. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2022 The Supreme Court created a legal mess with its misbegotten 5-4 McGirt ruling in 2020, and the complications keep coming. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 11 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1546, in the meaning defined at sense 1
misbegotten
adjective
as in illegitimate
born to a father and mother who are not married a misbegotten child who never knew his father Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- illegitimate
- bastard
- spurious
- baseborn
- motherless
- orphaned
- supposititious
- nameless
- natural
- adopted
- fatherless
- unfathered
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- legitimate