Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Wrong |
WrongAdjective1. Not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth; "an incorrect calculation"; "the report in the paper is wrong"; "your information is wrong"; "the clock showed the wrong time"; "found themselves on the wrong road"; "based on the wrong assumptions". 2. Contrary to conscience or morality or law; "it is wrong for the rich to take advantage of the poor"; "cheating is wrong"; "it is wrong to lie". 3. Not appropriate for a purpose or occasion; "unsuitable attire for the office"; "said all the wrong things". 4. Not functioning properly; "something is amiss"; "has gone completely haywire"; "the telephone is out of order"; "what's the matter with your vacuum cleaner?"; "something is wrong with the engine". 5. Not according with the facts; "unfortunately the statement was simply untrue"; "the facts as reported were wrong". 6. Based on or acting or judging in error; "it is wrong to think that way". 7. Not in accord with established usage or procedure; "the wrong medicine"; "the wrong way to shuck clams". 8. Not conforming with accepted standards of propriety or taste; undesirable; "incorrect behavior"; "she was seen in all the wrong places"; "He thought it was wrong for her to go out to work". 9. Used of the side of cloth or clothing intended to face inward; "socks worn wrong side out". 10. : badly timed; "an ill-timed intervention"; "you think my intrusion unseasonable"; "an untimely remark"; "it was the wrong moment for a joke". Adverb1. In an incorrect manner; "she guessed wrong". Noun1. That which is contrary to the principles of justice or law; "he feels that you are in the wrong". 2. A legal injury is any damage resulting from a violation of a legal right. Verb1. Treat unjustly; do wrong to. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "wrong" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Wrong The king (or queen) can do no wrong. "It seems incredible that we should have to remind Lord Redesdale that the sovereign can do no wrong.' simply because the sovereign can do nothing except by and with the advice and consent of the ministers of the Crown."- The Times. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Evil is a very old term for describing that which is morally bad, corrupt, wantonly destructive, selfish, and wicked. It is one half of the duality of good and evil expressed, in some form or another, by all known cultures. By its implication it describes a hierarchy of moral standards with regard to human behaviour; evil being the least desired, while love is the most praised. In a casual or derogatory use, the word "evil" can characterize people and behaviours that are painful, ruinous, or disastrous.
A similar term is malice; a criminal may be considered 'malicious.
In longstanding religious traditions, "evil" is widely considered to be a mystery; that life and its rules are "governed" by an innate benevolence, and behaviour that directly contradicts "good nature" is not understandable in moral and reasoning terms. "Evil" characterises and describes aspects of human beings that deviate from the social, loving, righteous, natures within, which in contrast lead to social strength, and continuing survival, through love. In the forms of malice and selfishness, evil represents the socially-weakening and destructive behaviours that lead directly to a fruitless life and death.
Views on how good and evil are defined lie between two extremes. "Moral absolutism" holds that good and evil are fixed concepts established by God, nature, or some other authority. Moral relativism holds that standards of good and evil are only products of local culture, custom, or prejudice. Moral universalism is a recent humanist term to find a compromise between the unattainable absolutist sense of morality, and the unauthoritative relativist view.
Regardless of the source of their definitions, all human cultures have a set of "natural beliefs" about what things are evil. Natural evils generally include accidental death, disease, and other misfortunes. Moral evils generally include violence, deceit or other destructive behavior toward others, although the same behavior toward "outsiders" of the group may be considered "good." War provides many examples, and "God is always on the winning side." The Unification Church's definition of evil is: "Taking advantage of another person for one's own benefit."
The Abrahamic religions, as well as others, are largely centered around the concepts of good and evil, and this has lead to much religious debate. Many cultures and mythologies personify evil, such as with Satan in Christianity. Others describe evil spirits or demons as the inciters of acts.
Some sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists have attempted to construct scientific explanations for the development of specific characteristics of an "antisocial" personality type, called the sociopath. The sociopath is typified by extreme self-serving behavior, and a lack of conscience, or inability to empathize with others, to restrain self from, or to feel remorse for, harm personally caused to others. However, a diagnosis of anti-social or sociopath personality disorder (formerly called psychopathic mental disorder), is sometimes criticised as being, at the present time, no more scientific than calling a person evil. What critics perceive to be a moral determination is disguised, they argue, with a scientific-sounding name, but no complete description of a mechanism by which the abnormality can be identified is provided. In other words, critics argue, "sociopaths" are called such, because they are first thought to be "evil" - a determination which itself is not derived by a scientific method.
Many cultures recognize many levels of immoral behavior, from minor vices to major crimes. These beliefs are often encoded into the laws of a society, with methods of judgment and punishment for offenses.
See also:
- Goodness
- Religion
- Philosophy
- Law
- The problem of evil
As used by computer hackers, the jargon term evil implies that some system, program, person, or institution is sufficiently maldesigned as to be not worth the bother of dealing with. Unlike the adjectives in the cretinous/losing/brain-damaged series, evil does not imply incompetence or bad design, but rather a set of goals or design criteria fatally incompatible with the speaker's. This usage is more an esthetic and engineering judgment than a moral one in the mainstream sense. "We thought about adding a Blue Glue interface but decided it was too evil to deal with." "TECO is neat, but it can be pretty evil if you're prone to typos." Often pronounced with the first syllable lengthened, as /eeee'vil/. Compare evil and rude.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Evil."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
This page is concerned with the common meaning of "sin" related to immoralities. For other meanings, see Sin (disambiguation)
Sin is a concept used primarily in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) describing a transgression against the will of God, and often held to require repentance and penance; in some theologies it may also entail the risk of damnation.
Some religions hold that a sin is an act which does damage to the soul.
Atonement describes the process through which we become reconciled to God for sins. It was a concept derived from Judaism and became a central idea of Christian theology.
In Christian theology, impeccability is the absence of sin.
In Hinduism and other vedic religions, the term sin is often used to describe actions that create karma.
Etymology
The English word sin derives from Old English synn. The same root appears in several other Germanic languages, e.g. Old Norse synd, or German Sünde. The word may derive, ultimately, from *es-, one of the Indo-European roots that meant "to be," and is a present participle, "being." Latin, also has an old present participle of esse in the word sons, sont-, which came to mean "guilty" in Latin. The root meaning would appear to be, "it is true;" that is, "the charge has been proven." The Greek word hamartia is often translated as sin in the New Testament; it means "to miss the mark" or "to miss the target".
Biblical conceptions of atonement for sin
Aatonement for sins is discussed in the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. Rituals for atonement occurred in the Temple in Jerusalem, and were performed by the Kohanim, priests. These services included song, prayer, offerings and animal sacrifices. The rites for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are prescribed in the book of Leviticus. The ritual of the scapegoat, sent into the wilderness to be claimed by Azazel, was a part of these observances.
A number of animal sacrifices were prescribed in the Torah (five books of Moses) to make atonement: a sin-offering for sins, and a guilt offering for religious trespasses. The significance of animal sacrifice, why God commanded them, is not expanded on at length in the Torah itself, though Genesis IX:4 and Leviticus XVII suggest that blood and vitality were linked. Later Biblical prophets occasionally make statements to the effect that the hearts of the people were more important than their sacrifices.
Note that Judaism's views on sin and atonement are not identical to those in the Hebrew Bible alone, but rather are based on the laws of the Bible as seen through the Jewish oral law.
- See also: Seven deadly sins
Jewish views of sin
Judaism regards the violation of divine commandments to be a sin. Judaism uses this term to include violations of Jewish law that are not necessarily a lapse in morality. Judaism holds that all people sin at various points in their lives, and hold that God tempers justice with mercy.
The generic Hebrew word for any kind of sin is aveira. Based on verses in the Hebrew Bible, Judaism describes three levels of sin.
Judaism holds that no human being is perfect, and all people have sinned many times. However a state of sin does not condemn a person to damnation; only one or two truly grievous sins lead to anything approaching the Christian idea of hell. The Biblical and rabbinic conception of God is that of a creator who tempers justice with mercy. Based on the views of Rabbeinu Tam in the Babylonian Talmud (tractate Rosh HaShanah 17b), God is said to have thirteen attributes of mercy:
- Pesha or Mered - An intentional sin; an action committed in deliberate defiance of God;
- Ovon - This is a sin of lust or uncontrollable emotion. It is a sin done knowingly, but not done to defy God;
- Cheit - This is an unintentional sin.
As Jews are commanded in imitatio Dei, emulating God, rabbis take these attributes into account in deciding Jewish law and its contemporary application.
- God is merciful before someone sins, even though God knows that a person is capable of sin.
- God is merciful to a sinner even after the person has sinned.
- God represents the power to be merciful even in areas that a human would not expect or deserve.
- God is compassionate, and eases the punishment of the guilty.
- God is gracious even to those who are not deserving.
- God is slow to anger.
- God is abundant in kindness.
- God is a god of truth, thus we can count on God's promises to forgive repentant sinners.
- God guarantees kindness to future generations, as the deeds of the righteous patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) have benefits to all their descendants.
- God forgives intentional sins if the sinner repents.
- God forgives a deliberate angering of Him if the sinner repents.
- God forgives sins that are committed in error.
- God wipes away the sins away from those who repent.
A classical rabbinic work, Midrash Avot de Rabbi Natan, states:
The Babylonian Talmud teaches that "Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Eleazar both explain that as long as the Temple stood, the altar atoned for Israel, but now, one's table atones [when the poor are invited as guests]." (Tractate Berachot, 55a.)
- One time, when Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was walking in Jerusalem with Rabbi Yehosua, they arrived at where the Temple in Jerusalem now stood in ruins. "Woe to us" cried Rabbi Yehosua, "for this house where atonement was made for Israel's sins now lies in ruins!" Answered Rabban Yochanan, "We have another, equally important source of atonement, the practice of gemilut hasadim (loving kindness), as it is stated 'I desire loving kindness and not sacrifice'".
The traditional liturgy of the Days of Awe (the High Holy Days; i.e. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) states that prayer, repentance and tzedakah (charitable actions) are how one atones for sin.
Christian views of sin
There is a difference among Christians concerning the use of the word "sin". Protestants use it primarily for what they see as humanity's inherently sinful nature, and only secondarily to actual instances of sin. Roman Catholics by contrast reserve the word only for actual instances of sin, calling the sinful nature of humans "concupiscence". One Greek word in the New Testament that is often translated "sin" is hamartia, which literally means missing the target. Catholics distinguish between venial sin, which warrants only temporal punishment in Purgatory, and mortal sin, which warrants eternal punishment in Hell, if left unconfessed.
According to Roman Catholicism, in addition to Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary also lived her entire life without sin. She is believed to have gone directly to heaven after the end of her life on Earth; this doctrine is the Assumption of Mary. This belief in Mary's sinlessness is shared by many Eastern Orthodox theologians, but is not universally held and is not generally considered to be a point of dogma.
Original sin - Most denominations of Christianity interpret the Garden of Eden story in Genesis in terms of the fall of man. Adam and Eve's disobedience was the first sin ever committed, and their original sin (or the effects of their sin) is passed on to their descendants and is a primary reason that people must be born again and gain salvation.
In Western Christianity, sin is often viewed as a legal infraction or contract violation, and so salvation is also tends to be viewed in legal terms. In Eastern Christianity, sin is more often viewed in terms of its effects on relationships, both among people and between people and God. Consequently, salvation is viewed more in terms of reconciliation and vastly improved relationships. These two perspectives are not mutually exclusive, but merely reflect different emphases in thinking and teaching.
There also tends to be a distinction between Roman Catholic and some Protestant views of the effects of sin. Many Protestants teach that sin, including original sin, has entirely extinguished any human capacity to move in the direction of reconciliation towards God. Salvation is sola fide, by faith alone, and sola gratia, by grace alone, and by God's initiative alone. This view is called total depravity, and is associated with Calvinism and to some extent with Lutheranism.
Roman Catholics, by contrast, typically teach that while sin has tarnished the original goodness of humanity prior to the Fall, it has not entirely extinguished that goodness. Under this view, humans can reach towards God to share in the Redemption which Christ won for them. This view is shared by some versions of Protestantism also, including Methodism; among Protestants, at least, it is known as Arminianism. It is also logically necessary for Pascal's wager to be effective.
One theological tenet gaining currency among Protestant Evangelicals and Fundamentalists is that original sin resulted in imperfections at the genetic level. This seems to be an attempt to incorporate some findings from science into what has been called Creation science. This claim is rejected as theologically wrong by Catholics and liberal Protestants, and is widely regarded as pseudo-science by scientists.
Christian views of atonement
In Christianity, atonement refers to the redemption achieved by Jesus Christ by his crucifixion and resurrection. Its centrality means that it has been the source of much discussion and some controversy throughout Christian history. Christians begin with the proposition that the death of Jesus Christ was a similar sacrifice that relieves believers of the burden of their sins. But what was the actual meaning of Christ's death? Why did He have to die? The meaning of an event of such transcendent significance to Christians is hard to capture in any one verbal formula. But several have been ventured:
The several ideas of these and many more theologians can perhaps be summed up under these rubrics:
- Origen taught that the death of Christ was a ransom paid to Satan in satisfaction of his just claim on the souls of humanity as a result of sin.
- St. Irenaeus of Lyons taught that Christ recapitulated in Himself all the stages of life of sinful man, and that His perfect obedience substituted for Adam's disobedience.
- St. Athanasius of Alexandria taught that Christ came to overcome death and corruption, and to remake humanity in God's image again. See On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius.
- St. Anselm taught that Christ's death satisfied God's offended sense of justice over the sins of humanity. Also, God rewarded Christ's obedience, which built up a storehouse of merit and a treasury of grace that believers could share by their faith in Christ. Anselm's teaching is contained in his treatise Cur Deus Homo, which means Why God Became Human.
- Abelard held that Christ's Passion was God suffering with His creatures in order to show the greatness of His love for them.
- John Calvin taught that Christ, the only sinless person, volunteered to take upon Himself the penalty for the sins that should have been visited on the rest of humanity. Calvin's view is called substitutionary atonement.
- Karl Barth taught that Christ's death manifested God's love and His hatred for sin.
For the Christian, full appreciation of the mystery of atonement may require a balance of all four themes.
- Substitution: the idea that God assumed the penalty for human sins on the Cross, and volunteered punishment so that the faithful might escape it;
- Example: the idea that Christ's death was meant as an object lesson in ideal submission to the will of God, and to show the path to eternal life;
- Revelation: the idea that Christ's death was meant to reveal God's nature to us, to help us to know Him and His nature better, and to show us the coming resurrection.
- Victory: the idea that Christ defeated Death through his death, and gave life to those in the grave.
See also: Penance; Repentance; Reconciliation; Catholic sacraments
Muslim views of Sin
Islam sees sin to be anything that harms Allah's creation or goes against the will of Allah.
Surely, there is more to be said about Islamic views of sin and atonement.
See also: God, Religion
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sin."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Wrong is an incorrect manner or state.Something that is not correct or not appropriate for a purpose or occasion, usually badly timed. Something that is based on error and not according with the facts. It is being in a state that is not in accord with established usage or procedure. It can mean not being in conformity with fact or truth.
In law, a wrong can be a legal injury is any damage resulting from a violation of a legal right. It can also imply the state of being contrary to the principles of justice or law. It means that something is contrary to conscience or morality and results in treating others unjustly.
See also: right, evil, good, justice, and victim
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Wrong."
Synonyms: WrongSynonyms: amiss(p) (adj), awry(p) (adj), haywire (adj), ill timed(p) (adj), ill-timed(a) (adj), improper (adj), inappropriate (adj), incorrect (adj), out of order(p) (adj), the matter(p) (adj), unseasonable (adj), unsuitable (adj), untimely (adj), untrue (adj), wrong(p) (adj), incorrectly (adv), wrongly (adv), damage (n), legal injury (n), wrongfulness (n). (additional references) |
| Antonyms: correct (adj), correctly (adv), right (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Evil | Outrage, wrong, injury, foul play; bad turn, ill turn; disservice, spoliation; grievance, crying evil. |
Adverb: amis, wrong, ill, to one's cost | |
Inexpedience | Evil, wrong; depraved; shocking; reprehensible; (disapprove). hateful, hateful as a toad; abominable, detestable, execrable, cursed, accursed, confounded; damned, damnable; infernal; diabolic; (malevolent). |
Adverb: badly; Adjective:; wrong, ill; to one's cost; where the shoe pinches. | |
Malevolence | Hurt; (physical pain); annoy; injure., harm, wrong; do harm to, do an ill office to; outrage; disoblige, malign, plant a thorn in the breast. |
Vice | Adjective: vicious; sinful; sinning;Verb: wicked, iniquitous, immoral, unrighteous, wrong, criminal; naughty, incorrect; unduteous, undutiful. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Wrong |
| English words defined with "wrong": To go wrong. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "wrong": All in the Wrong ♦ Wrong Side of the Blanket, Wrong Side of the Cloth. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "wrong": Wrongous. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | No. They were wrong, John (A Beautiful Mind; writing credit: Akiva Goldsman) It's kind of like when you go on vacation: you plan everything out, but then one day you make a wrong turn, or take a detour, and you end up in some crazy place you can't even find on the map, doing something you never thought you'd do. Maybe you feel a little lost while it's happening, but later you realize it was the best part of the whole trip (Threesome; writing credit: Andrew Fleming.) What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world (The Matrix; writing credit: Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski.) You want to know what's wrong with our waterfront (On the Waterfront; writing credit: Budd Schulberg.) There is nothing wrong with poor people (Sweet Home Alabama; writing credit: C. Jay Cox) | |
Lyrics | Little miss, Little miss, Little miss can't be wrong (Little Miss Can't Be Wrong; performing artist: Spin Doctors) Tha same drama when things went wrong we blamed mama (Dear Mama; performing artist: 2Pac) Right me when I'm wrong (When I'm Gone; performing artist: 3 DOORS DOWN) I was wrong and I admit it (Second Chance; performing artist: 38 Special) Did you sleep on the wrong side (We Need A Resolution; performing artist: Aaliyah) | |
Clever | Never do wrong when people are looking. (references; author: Mark Twain) Alaska: 11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong! (references; author: unknown) Rebellion is the mother of wrong actions. (references; author: unknown) Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says (references; author: unknown) A long dispute means that both parties are wrong. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection (1972) Wrong Way (1972) The Right and the Wrong (1970) | |
Song Titles | If Loving You is Wrong (performing artist: Luther Ingram) Wrong Impression (performing artist: Natalie Imbruglia) Little Miss Can't Be Wrong (performing artist: Spin Doctors) Don't Get Me Wrong (performing artist: The Pretenders) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
| ||
Periodicals |
| ||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Water sample bottles in a mess Caption - "Sometimes things go wrong" OCEANOGRAPHER around the world cruise. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Snarled anchor cable and current meter cables Sometimes things go seriously wrong Current studies in SE Alaska. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | This sea snake is actually a vertebrate and in the wrong place in collection. Credit: National Undersea Research Program (NURP). |  | Title page of Edwards Forbes' paper concerning a dredging expedition in the Aegean Sea. Forbes set forth the concept that no life existed below 300 fathoms inspiring numerous pioneeer oceanographers to devise means to prove him wrong. In: The Annual Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science for the year 1843. NOAA Central Library Journal collection. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |
 | The wrong choice can Kill you. : Aids - Don't Get it!. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | No Chow! Not Enough Food or The Wrong Kind Of Food... : Prevent Malnutrition By Doing These Things:... Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | Cloth jacket patch featuring the ship's emblem, as used in 1960. Its motto, "Our Country -- May She Ever Be Right", is based on Commodore Stephen Decatur's April 1816 toast: "Our County! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong." Courtesy of Captain G.F. Swainson, USN, 1969. Credit: NAVY. |  | Those awful moments : the wrong flat. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Help, gents! there's something wrong. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Harassing the wrong party. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Wrong place" by Jana Werner Commentary: "A wasp who thinks he is a bee :) Enjoy!." | "Wrong way" by Myname Mylastname Commentary: "U go wrong." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Alexander Pope | Ten censure wrong, for one that writes amiss. |
Author Unknown | When two quarrel, both are in the wrong. |
| Many men take the wrong step by standing still. | |
John Kenneth Galbraith | In economics the majority is always wrong. |
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu | Nature is seldom in the wrong, custom always. |
Marshall Field | Right or wrong, the customer is always right. |
Oliver Wendell Holmes | Apology is only egotism wrong side out. |
Stephen Decatur | Our country right or wrong. |
Walter Savage Landor | Wrong is but falsehood put in practice. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | Great mistakes in the ruling part, many wrong and inconvenient laws, and all the slips of human frailty, will be born by the people without mutiny or murmur. (Second Treatise of Government) |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | The HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, recognising the moral obligation to redress the wrong done by Germany in 1871 both to the rights of France and to the wishes of the population of Alsace and Lorraine, which were separated from their country in spite of the solemn protest of their representatives at the Assembly of Bordeaux Agree upon the following Articles: ARTICLE 5l. (reference) |
Winston S. Churchill | 1946 | It would nevertheless be wrong and imprudent to entrust the secret knowledge or experience of the atomic bomb, which the United States, Great Britain, and Canada now share, to the world organization, while it is still in its infancy. ("Iron Curtain" Speech) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | But though I was always doing wrong things, they were very bad wrong things, and such as did me no service |
Sylvie and Bruno Concluded | Carroll, Lewis | In reply, I can only plead my firm conviction that the popular usage is wrong. |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | The clock was wrong. |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams | "Did I do anything wrong today," he said, "or has the world always been like this and I've been too wrapped up in myself to notice?" |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Half light and half shadow, Napoleon felt himself protected in the right, and tolerated in the wrong. |
Absalom and Achitophel | John Dryden | A man so various, that he seem'd to be Not one, but all mankind's epitome; Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong, Was everything by starts, and nothing long; But in the course of one revolving moon Was chymist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | A priest would not be a priest if he did not tell his flock what is right and what is wrong. |
King Richard III | Shakespeare, William | Yet you have all the vantage of her wrong. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | His fingers felt that something was wrong, but did not care enough to find out. |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | He asked, what time was usually spent in determining between right and wrong, and what degree of expense |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Ken Judy remembers vividly the first signs that something was wrong. (references) | |
Molecular biology has given us a foothold to understand what goes wrong. (references) | ||
There is no right or wrong decision, as each choice is highly individual. (references) | ||
Business | A "eurobarometer 2000" poll exemplifies this hostility against genetically modified food. Common sentiments echoed by respondents were that, “even if GM-food has advantages, it is against nature;” “if something went wrong, it would be a global disaster;” and “GM-food is simply not necessary. (references) | |
Economic History | Austria | Sometimes they are right, more often wrong. (references) |
Sri Lanka | The key concern for expatriates doing business in Sri Lanka is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. (references) | |
Taiwan | Taiwan bureaucrats tend to believe that the penalty for making no decision is always less than the penalty for making the wrong decision and this attitude can result in frustrating delays or unreasonable demands on the contractor as bureaucrats seek to take the safest course of action. (references) | |
Human Rights | Cameroon | The trial revealed that the gendarmes had arrested the wrong persons, following a misidentification of the perpetrators. (references) |
Belarus | On September 1, 20 activists from Zubr were detained for wearing the wrong colored shirts to a Ukraine-Belarus football match. (references) | |
Political Economy | Sri Lanka | For expatriate business persons working in Colombo and elsewhere, the primary security concern is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. (references) |
Trade | Ukraine | Because of the self-assessment system, corporate taxpayers bear the risk of erroneous interpretation of tax legislation and wrong calculations. (references) |
Travel | Philippines | It is never wrong to wear the national dress, the "barong Tagalog," a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt worn without a tie, to business and social functions. (references) |
Sri Lanka | Tourists or business representatives traveling in Sri Lanka who are in the wrong place at the wrong time may be inadvertently caught up in random acts of violence. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | ABSENT, adj. Peculiarly exposed to the tooth of detraction; vilifed; hopelessly in the wrong; superseded in the consideration and affection of another. To men a man is but a mind. Who cares What face he carries or what form he wears? But woman's body is the woman. O, Stay thou, my sweetheart, and do never go, But heed the warning words the sage hath said: A woman absent is a woman dead. Jogo Tyree |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Conan O'Brien | Really, don't get me wrong. I'm very proud that I have a network special, but we still have to remember that cable is expanding and they've got some great channels, too. |
David Letterman | Nothing's wrong with your brother, but you know by now they're in it for the free meal. You must know by now that that's why they're here. Of course, look at them. |
Dennis Miller | If you're looking for empirical truth on TV, you're watching the wrong kinescope. |
Julianne Moore | That happens to me at the end of a movie. You know I'm fine at the beginning and then near the end I start getting depressed because I realize I've made all the wrong choices. |
Robert Atkins | Oh, have you got that wrong. If it tastes good, you can stay on it for life. Just pick a healthy food that tastes good and that's what Atkins does. |
Rush Limbaugh | America is always wrong, and is always to blame for everything. |
Sarah Ferguson | Taking what you've done wrong and realizing that it's a been bonus, actually, and it's positive. It's quite a difficult thing to do. |
Sylvia Browne | Nothing wrong with saying that. I think the more honest we are with children, the better because kids are not stupid. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Thomas Jefferson | 1801-1809 | When right, I shall often be thought wrong by those whose positions will not command a view of the whole ground. |
Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | There is but one point of controversy, and upon that the whole civilized world must pronounce France to be in the wrong. |
Rutherford Hayes | 1877-1881 | Human judgment is never unerring, and is rarely regarded as otherwise than wrong by the unsuccessful party in the contest. |
Woodrow Wilson | 1913-1921 | The Nation has been deeply stirred, stirred by a solemn passion, stirred by the knowledge of wrong, of ideals lost, of government too often debauched and made an instrument of evil. |
Dwight Eisenhower | 1953-1961 | Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. |
Richard Nixon | 1969-1974 | At every turn, we have been beset by those who find everything wrong with America and little that is right. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Well, sometimes, even here in Washington, the cynics are wrong. |
George Bush | 1989-1993 | If anyone tells you America's best days are behind her, they're looking the wrong way. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | We are acting to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands and to rid the world of land mines. |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | Double taxation is wrong. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Wrong" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 95.93% of the time. "Wrong" is used about 13,561 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 95.93% | 13,009 | 705 |
| Adverb (general) | 2.94% | 399 | 14,004 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 0.55% | 75 | 38,535 |
| Noun (singular) | 0.43% | 59 | 44,010 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 0.07% | 10 | 111,207 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.07% | 9 | 117,287 |
| Total | 100.00% | 13,561 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "wrong": ad wrong ♦ all in the wrong ♦ all wrong ♦ at the wrong moment ♦ at the wrong time ♦ back the wrong horse ♦ bad and Wrong ♦ bark up the wrong tree ♦ be in the wrong ♦ be in the wrong box ♦ be on the wrong scent ♦ be on the wrong tack ♦ be proven wrong ♦ be wrong ♦ begin at the wrong end ♦ being wrong ♦ born on the wrong side of the blanket ♦ bring one's pig to the wrong market ♦ catch smb. on the wrong foot ♦ civil wrong ♦ come to the wrong shop ♦ come up to the wrong shop ♦ completely wrong ♦ dead wrong ♦ dial the wrong number ♦ dial wrong number ♦ do not try to put me in the wrong ♦ do smth. wrong ♦ do wrong ♦ do wrong to ♦ do wrong to smb. ♦ everything is going wrong ♦ find oneself in the wrong box ♦ from a wrong idea of ♦ fundamentally wrong ♦ get hold the wrong end of the stick ♦ get it wrong ♦ get off on the wrong foot ♦ get out af the bed on the wrong side ♦ get out of bed on the wrong side ♦ get smb. wrong ♦ get the wrong end of the stick ♦ get the wrong sow by the ear ♦ get wrong ♦ give smb. a wrong impression ♦ give the wrong answer ♦ go wrong ♦ go wrong in ♦ guess wrong ♦ hang up in the wrong place ♦ he does not know what is right from what is wrong ♦ he is completely wrong ♦ hear wrong ♦ hit the wrong key ♦ in a wrong light ♦ in the wrong ♦ In the wrong box ♦ in the wrong direction ♦ in the wrong place ♦ is there smth. wrong with it? ♦ it is very wrong of you to support him ♦ jump in the wrong box ♦ laugh on the wrong side of one's mouth ♦ make it wrong ♦ make smth. go wrong ♦ not wrong ♦ on the wrong scent ♦ on the wrong side ♦ on the wrong side of the wall ♦ play a wrong note ♦ prove wrong ♦ public wrong ♦ put the saddle on the wrong horse ♦ put wrong ♦ quite wrong ♦ right or wrong ♦ rough the wrong way ♦ rub smb. up the wrong way ♦ sense of right and wrong ♦ something is wrong ♦ something is wrong here ♦ something is wrong with ♦ speak right and wrong ♦ start at the wrong end ♦ stroke smb. up the wrong way ♦ stroke smb.'s hair the wrong way ♦ stroke the wrong way ♦ swallow the wrong way ♦ take a word in the wrong sense ♦ take the wrong sow by the ear ♦ that's where you are wrong ♦ the wrong side ♦ the wrong way ♦ the wrong way round ♦ there is smth. wrong with his lungs ♦ this is wrong ♦ To go wrong ♦ varnish right and puzzle wrong ♦ was i wrong to believe him? ♦ what is wrong with you? ♦ what's wrong with. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "wrong": wrong-course, wrong-doer, wrong-doers, wrong-doing, wrong-doing-disease, wrong-doings, wrong-foot, wrong-footed, wrong-footing, wrong-foots, wrong-headed, wrong-headedness, wrong-ish, wrong-kind-of-snow, wrong-measure, wrong-side-out, wrong-the, Wrong-timed, wrong-turning, wrong-way. | |
Ending with "wrong": blues-band-gone-wrong, Self-wrong, where-did-he-go-wrong. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "wrong"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | verkeerd (erroneous, false, mistaken, untrue), onjuis (erroneous, incorrect, mistaken). (various references) | |
Albanian | padrejtësi (inequity, iniquity, injury, injustice), ofendim (grievance, indignity, injury, insult, offence), i papërshtatshëm (ill timed, ill-placed, ill-sorted, ill-suited, improper, inadequate, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, incongruous, inconvenient, indecorous, ineligible, inept, infelicitous, out of place, reject, unadaptable, unapt, unbecoming, unbefitting, undesirable, undue, unequal, unfavorable, unfavourable, unmeet, unsuitable, unsuited, unusable), i padrejtë (foul, inequitable, iniquitous, injurious, inofficious, jug-handled, one sided, partial, unfair, unjust, wrongful), i gabuar (Amiss, erroneous, fallacious, false, faulty, ill-judged, improper, incorrect, mistaken, peccant, perverse, untrue, wet, wrongful), faj (blame, buck, crime, delinquency, fault, guilt, guiltiness), e keqe (affliction, bad, evil, harm, hopeless, ill, pest, pestilence). (various references) | |
Arabic | على نحو غير مناسب, إعتداء (assault, battery, entrenchment, inroad, offensive, onset, violation, wrongdoing), المذنب (guilty, offender), جور (iniquity, injustice, oppression, tyranny), خاطئ (amiss, erring, erroneous, false, faulty, improper, inaccurate, incorrect, mistaken), ضرر (damage, detriment, devilry, disadvantage, harm, hurt, injury, lesion, mal, malignancy, mis, prejudice), ضلال (aberrance, deception, delusion, error, obscurity, perversity, wandering), ضيم (grievance), طالح غير صالح, ظلم (abuse, aggrieve, darken, eclipse, extortion, gloom, grind, grow dark, inequality, inequity, iniquity, injustice, oppress, oppression, shadow, tyrannize, unfairness), على نحو خاطئ (mistakenly), ظلم (injustice), سلبه ماله (clean, clip, hustle, swindle), غير مرض (unsatisfactory), غير مناسب (ill timed, improper, inadvisable, inappropriate, incongruous, inept, inexpedient, undue), حيف (injustice), لا أخلاقي (beastly), مخالف للمألوف, مخطئ (at fault, erring, in error, mistaken), فاسد (abusive, bad, corrupt, decadent, decayed, decomposed, degenerated, depraved, disintegrated, evil, false, foul, immoral, incorrect, infected, invalid, null, perverse, pervertible, putrid, rogue, rotten, spoiled, unsound, vain, vicious, void, wicked), عامل بإزدراء (snub). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | лош (bad, chronic, cobbler, evil, fie-fie, foul, ill natured, ill tempered, ill-conditioned, inferior, loose, lousy, malefic, maleficent, malign, mean, miscreant, miserable, nasty, naughty, poor, rough, rugged, severe, shoddy, sinister, sorry, thumping, ugly, vicious, wicked), друг (another, different, diverse, else, new, other, otherwise), не в ред, наскърбявам (be rude, distress, hurt), навреждам на (disserve, harm), набеждавам, напакостявам на, зло (abuse, bad, cancer, curse, disaster, evil, harm, ill, mischief, ulcer), неподходящ (ill-suited, improper, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, incorrect, ineligible, inept, infelicitous, injudicious, inopportune, irrelative, irrelevant, out of place, unadapted, unapt, unbecoming, unbeseeming, uncongenial, undignified, undue, unequal, unfit, unseemly, unsuitable, unsuited, untoward), лоша постъпка, неподхождащ (unbecoming, unbefitting, unbeseeming, undue), беззаконие (anomie, lawlessness), противоречащ на фактите, причинявам зло на, постъпвам несправедливо към, погрешно (by mistake, mis-, mistakenly, wrongly), погрешен (awry, erroneous, false, faulty, illegitimate, improper, inaccurate, incorrect, mis-, misguided, mistaken, off beat, perverse, unsound, untrue, vicious, wonky, wrongful), повреден (damaged, defective, faulty, haywire, injured, out of order, out of whack), злина (blackness, evil, ill), несправедлив (inequitable, iniquitous, one-legged, partial, raw, unfair, unjust, unrighteous, wrongful), грешащ, в ненормално състояние, в лошо състояние (in a bad way), оклеветявам (defame, vilify), онеправдавам (injure), обратен (back, backward, contrary, converse, counter, cross, inverse, inversive, obverse, opposite, reactive, reciprocal, retrograde, return, reverse), обиждам (abuse, affront, aggrieve, belabor, belabour, dishonor, dishonour, give offense, give umbrage, huff, hurt, injure, insult, inveigh, offend, outrage, slight, spite, vituperate), неподобаващ (indecent, indecorous, unmeet), опак (cantankerous, contrary, crabby, cranky, cross-grained, perverse, rambunctious, restive, reverse, wayward), грешен (fallacious, iniquitous, peccant, sinful, unhallowed, unrighteous, wicked), нереден (indecent, naughty, undue), неточен (improper, inaccurate, incorrect, indefinite, inexact, lax, loose, unfaithful, untrue, wide), неморален (blackguardly, immoral, light, loose), нежелан (de trop, involuntary, unacceptable, unasked, unbidden, uncalled for, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome, unwished), неправилно (awry, foul, incorrectly, mis-, mistakenly, untruly, wrongly), неправда (abuse, iniquity, injustice), неправ, обида (affront, cut, dishonor, dishonour, hurt, indignity, injury, insult, offence, offense, outrage, resentment, slight, slur, umbrage, wound). (various references) | |
Chinese | 錯 (blunder, cross, error, fault, mistake, uneven), 错误 (Corrigenda, Corrigendum, Erroneous, error), 曲 (bent, crooked, song, tune), 不平 (grievance, indignant, injustice, resentful, unfairness), 不對 (abnormal, amiss, incorrect, queer). (various references) | |
Czech | zlo (evil, evildoing, malefice), ukřivdit (aggrieve), spatný, příkoří, nesprávný (false, faulty, improper, inaccurate, incorrect, out, untrue), nepravý (artificial, dummy, faked, forged, mock, pinchbeck, pseudo, spurious), mylný (devious, erring, erroneous, faulty, mistaken), křivda (grievance, injustice, wrongdoing), falešný (bad, bogus, brummagem, catty, double faced, dud, fake, false, false-hearted, forged, made up, mock, off-key, out of tune, phoney, phony, pseudo, put up, sham, spurious, two faced), chybný (erroneous, false, faulty, inaccurate, incorrect, lapsed, vicious), bezpráví, špatnost (badness, viciousness, wickedness), špatný (bad, black, defective, evil, faulty, ill, improper, inferior, low, poor, weak, wicked, worthless), špatnì (badly, ill, in a bad way, poorly, wrongly), špatně. (various references) | |
Danish | have uret (be wrong). (various references) | |
Dutch | verkeerd (bad, by mistake, erroneous, incorrect, miserable, mistaken, nasty, poor), onjuist (erroneous, incorrect, mistaken), foutief (erroneous, mistaken). (various references) | |
Esperanto | malprava, malĝusta (incorrect), erara (erroneous, mistaken). (various references) | |
Faeroese | sum hevur órætt. (various references) | |
Farsi | ناصحیح (Bad, Indecorous, Unjust, Unsound), غیرمنصفانه رفتارکردن , تقصیروجرم غلط, سهو (Blunder, Error, Goof, Inadvertent, Miscue, Oversight, Slip), خطا (Error, Injustice, Lapse, Miscue, Sin, Sinister, Slip, Transgression), اشتباه (Blame, Erroneous, Error, Fumble, Gaingiving, Goof, Inaccuracy, Mistake, Slip, Snafu), بی احترامی کردن به (Dishonor(Ur), Insult). (various references) | |
Finnish | virheellisesti (incorrectly), virheellinen (erroneous, faulty, inaccurate, incorrect), vääryys (crookedness, iniquity, injustice), väärinpäin (the wrong way, upside down), väärin (amiss, erroneously, incorrectly, mis, the wrong way, wrongly), väärä (bent, crooked, false, faulty, incorrect, mis, twisted, unfair, untrue, wrongful), takaperoinen (absurd, backward, perverted), rikkoa jotakuta vastaan (do an injury, offend against), nurja (adverse), hullusti (amiss, the wrong way). (various references) | |
French | tort, incorrect. (various references) | |
German | verkehrt (amiss, consorts, contrary, incorrect, inverse, inversely, inverted, opposite, perverse, perversely, topsy turvy, upside down, wrongly), Unrecht (injustice, wrongdoing, wrongly), falsch (bogus, cattish, cattishly, counterfeit, deceitful, erroneous, fake, false, falsely, fictitious, forged, imitation, improper, incorrect, incorrectly, insincere, loaded, mistaken, nonfactual, off-key, phoney, phony, pseudo, put on, sham, spurious, unsounded, untrue, wrongly), irrig (erroneous, erroneously, fallacious, false, incorrect, incorrectly, misguided, mistaken). (various references) | |
Greek | κακό (cocoa, evil, ill, malefaction, maleficence, mischief), εσφαλμένοσ (false, incorrect, misguided, mistaken), άδικοσ (inequitable, inequitous, underserved, undue, unfair, unjust, unmerited, unrighteous, wrongful), άδικο (unfairness), λάθος (error, false, fault, incorrect, lapse, mistake), λανθασμένοσ (mistaken), αδικώ, αδίκημα (malpractice, misdeed, offence, tort). (various references) | |
Hebrew |
