-nə(r) noun
Usage: see -or
Etymology: mis- (I) + demeanor
1. : a crime less than a felony ; specifically : a crime that is not punishable by death or imprisonment in a state penitentiary
2.
a. archaic : evil conduct : misbehavior
the whole town … is distressed for the misdemeanor of a few — Samuel Johnson
b. : an act of bad conduct : misdeed , offense
the failure of the family, a being of incalculable misdemeanors — H.G.Wells
leads to such misdemeanors in literary criticism as the too facile relating of a writer's entire working life to an unhappy childhood — Miriam Allott