wrongly

From Middle English wrongly, wrongliche, equivalent to wrong +‎ -ly.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɒŋ.li/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɔŋ.li/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɑŋ.li/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (Received Pronunciation) -ɒŋli, (General American) -ɔŋli, (cot–caught merger) -ɑŋli

wrongly (comparative more wrongly, superlative most wrongly)

1. In violation of a moral or other standard, code, or convention; in an unfair, unjust, dishonest, or immoral manner; unfairly, unjustly, dishonestly, immorally, wrongfully; wrongly convicted is synonymous with wrongful conviction and miscarriage of justice.
2. Incorrectly, mistakenly; by error.

   I wrongly assumed that it would be an easy job.

   • 2023 December 20, Maria Cramer, “He Was Wrongly Convicted of Killing Her Father. She Set Out to Free Him.”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     In March 2021, Mr. Livingston finally went up for parole after one of the lawyers from Appellate Advocates, De Nice Powell, argued he had been wrongly sentenced in the razor-blade contraband case and got the sentence reduced.

In American English, this word usually has a moral connotation, although it is not wrong to use "wrongly" as the opposite of "correctly".

• incorrectly, mistakenly, erroneously

• correctly, rightly