In a way that is illegal, unjust, or morally wrong; acting without right or proper authority.
From 'wrong' (Old English 'wrang,' past tense of 'wring') plus the suffix '-ful' (full of) plus '-ly' (adverb maker). By the 1200s, 'wrong' had shifted from physical twisting to moral/legal meaning.
In law, 'wrongfully' appears in cases like 'wrongful death' or 'wrongful termination'—it's a precise word lawyers use to establish that something happened illegally, which is why courts care so much about this specific adverb versus similar ones.
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