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Glite Dictionary
to misally

to misally

9.9
Form an alliance with the wrong partner that causes problems
  • verb
: aliarse con
  • One should also mention Hedda Gabler's George Tesman and Uncle Vanya's Serebryakoff, another pair of ponderous failures misallied to beautiful young women.

Examples

  • The politician misallied himself with a controversial figure, which damaged his reputation.

  • By misallying with the unreliable partners, he jeopardized the project's success.

  • She misallied with a group known for their radical views, leading to further conflicts.

Antonyms

to ally
17 3.6

To join with a person, group, or country for a common purpose

How Appropriate

to ally
17 3.6
to misally
9.9

Surface Forms

misally infinitive
misallied past
misallied past participle
misallying present participle
misallies third person singular

Morphology

misally = ally (transparent) = mis + ally

The meaning is directly derived from 'ally' with the prefix 'mis-' indicating a wrong or inappropriate alliance, which a B1 learner can infer.

Etymology

Misally breaks into mis- meaning 'wrong' and ally meaning 'partner' or 'friend'. So, to misally is to make a wrong or unwise partnership, like choosing the wrong teammate and getting into trouble.