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Definition of wrong noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

wrong

noun
 
/rɒŋ/
 
/rɔːŋ/
Idioms
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  1. [uncountable] behaviour that is not honest or morally acceptable
    • Children must be taught the difference between right and wrong.
    • Her son can do no wrong in her eyes.
    Extra Examples
    • According to her, her son could do no wrong.
    • Children have to learn the difference between right and wrong.
    • He admitted he had done her wrong and asked for forgiveness.
    • I see no wrong in asking him to share the expenses.
    • If they do wrong, they have to be punished.
    • I see no wrong in taking a little time off.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • great
    • terrible
    • past
    verb + wrong
    • commit
    • do (somebody)
    • inflict
    preposition
    • in the wrong
    phrases
    • the difference between right and wrong
    • the rights and wrongs (of something)
    See full entry
  2. [countable] (formal) an act that is not legal, honest or morally acceptable
    • It is time to forgive past wrongs if progress is to be made.
    • It seems like we're righting a wrong. It's long overdue.
    Extra Examples
    • You are answerable in court for wrongs done to individuals.
    • the wrongs inflicted on innocent people
    • to redress a wrong
    • Whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation, there's not a lot we can do.
    • There are various kinds of civil wrongs, or torts.
    • The two communities must learn to forgive past wrongs.
    • It's the job of the newspapers to expose the wrongs suffered by such people.
    Topics Crime and punishmentb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • great
    • terrible
    • past
    verb + wrong
    • commit
    • do (somebody)
    • inflict
    preposition
    • in the wrong
    phrases
    • the difference between right and wrong
    • the rights and wrongs (of something)
    See full entry
  3. opposite right
    Word Originlate Old English wrang, from Old Norse rangr ‘awry, unjust’; related to wring.
Idioms
in the wrong
  1. responsible for an accident, a mistake, an argument, etc.
    • The motorcyclist was clearly in the wrong.
    • It took a lot of courage to admit that she was in the wrong.
    • Although he knew he was in the wrong, he wouldn't apologize.
    Topics Opinion and argumentc2
right a wrong
  1. to do something to correct an unfair situation or something bad that you have done
    • This is a time to right wrongs and heal divisions.
    • How can we right these wrongs?
two wrongs don’t make a right
  1. (saying) used to say that if somebody does something bad to you, the situation will not be improved by doing something bad to them
See wrong in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee wrong in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
sufficiently
adverb
 
 
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