as in acquitted
to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way
if the children behave themselves properly and sit quietly during church, they'll get their ice cream afterward
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in cooperative
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Recent Examples of behaved
Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
The mice behaved very differently depending on their surroundings.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 7 Apr. 2025
Richard Nixon behaved with great skullduggery and used the power of the White House in an unconventional way.
—Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
A number of commenters were quick to assure the woman that her feelings are totally valid and that her friend was the one who behaved unreasonably.
—Toria Sheffield, People.com, 5 Apr. 2025
Musk has long behaved in business as though laws and regulations don’t apply to him—a tactic that seems to backfire more easily when applied to politics.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2025
Some spectators at Mangione's court proceedings have even behaved like fans, and a donation page to help with his legal expenses showed nearly $800,000 in contributions as of Tuesday.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2025
Before going public with his abuse claims in 2013, Robson was one of Jackson’s most vociferous defenders, denying the pop star had ever behaved inappropriately and serving as a key defense witness in Jackson’s 2005 child molestation trial.
—Danielle Bacher, People.com, 19 Mar. 2025
Your dog would have been well behaved and wouldn’t have caused a distraction.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
The males that lived near busy roadways behaved more aggressively than those living farther away by approaching the speaker closely and repeatedly swooping low over it, probably in search of the intruder.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
The mice behaved very differently depending on their surroundings.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 7 Apr. 2025
Richard Nixon behaved with great skullduggery and used the power of the White House in an unconventional way.
—Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
A number of commenters were quick to assure the woman that her feelings are totally valid and that her friend was the one who behaved unreasonably.
—Toria Sheffield, People.com, 5 Apr. 2025
Musk has long behaved in business as though laws and regulations don’t apply to him—a tactic that seems to backfire more easily when applied to politics.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2025
Some spectators at Mangione's court proceedings have even behaved like fans, and a donation page to help with his legal expenses showed nearly $800,000 in contributions as of Tuesday.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2025
Before going public with his abuse claims in 2013, Robson was one of Jackson’s most vociferous defenders, denying the pop star had ever behaved inappropriately and serving as a key defense witness in Jackson’s 2005 child molestation trial.
—Danielle Bacher, People.com, 19 Mar. 2025
Your dog would have been well behaved and wouldn’t have caused a distraction.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 11 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for behaved
Verb
-
Chol Soo Lee was eventually acquitted and freed.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacramento Bee,
14 Mar. 2025
-
The Kardashian family patriarch always stood by Simpson's side, going on to act as his defense attorney in the infamous murder trial, at the end of which Simpson was acquitted on all counts.—
Liza Esquibias,
People.com,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Ocasio-Cortez did vote against the defense bill as a whole, which includes $122.5 million for U.S.-Israel cooperative development programs, according to the House Appropriations Committee.—
Sudiksha Kochi,
USA Today,
22 July 2025
-
This marks the third cooperative engagement between Chinese and Vietnamese forces since April, when their naval forces and coast guards conducted two separate joint patrols in the Beibu Gulf—also known as the Gulf of Tonkin—off the coasts of Vietnam and China.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 July 2025
Verb
-
The Heat carried that momentum into the second half, beginning the third quarter on a 26-16 run to extend its lead to 20 points midway through the period.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
24 Mar. 2025
-
His unwillingness to yield to villains and become crushed by his past is one of the most identifiable traits that has carried the character through years of origin stories.—
Kevin Sabet,
Newsweek,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Doing so in a disciplined way is a path other CEOs—who are would-be acquirers—can learn from.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
10 July 2025
-
And beyond that, everyone else had to be very contained and very disciplined and very selfless.—
Laura Bradley,
Vulture,
8 July 2025
Verb
-
The individual, whose identity hasn’t been released, was quickly restrained by fellow passengers and later detained by state troopers.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
8 Jan. 2025
-
Medium-full, this has restrained wood notes along with great mouthfeel, as the wine hits every corner of the mouth.—
Tom Hyland,
Forbes,
7 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Plus, the first quarter of the New Year is a critical time when performance evaluations are conducted, bonuses are awarded and promotions are decided.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes,
5 Jan. 2025
-
Following an arrival ceremony at the Carter Presidential Center, a private service was conducted in the lobby of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, before the location was opened up to the public, allowing mourners to come and pay their respects.—
Nicholas Rice,
People.com,
5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The casting is incredible: Byrne is incandescent with pain and anger; Conan O’Brien plays her drolly deadpan therapist and colleague; and A$AP Rocky is her amiable neighbor and drug enabler at the hotel.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
21 July 2025
-
Sam Neill and Rosemarie DeWitt round out the cast as the seasoned head park ranger who looks out for Turner and Turner’s amiable ex-wife, respectively.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
17 July 2025
Verb
-
The monument is composed of rocks transported from far and wide—impressive feats of shipping for its Neolithic builders.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
24 Dec. 2024
-
Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from dermatologists.—
Jenny Berg,
Allure,
24 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Behaved.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behaved. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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