misalliance means an unsuitable alliance, especially an unsuitable marriage. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
misalliance is pronounced /ˌmɪsəˈlaɪəns/.
Why “misalliance” is a great word
MISALLIANCE — [Noun] An unsuitable or improper alliance, especially a marriage considered inappropriate due to differences in social rank or character. From the English prefix mis- ("badly, wrongly") + alliance ("union, association"), partly modeled on the French word mésalliance. Unlike mésalliance, which specifically indicts a marriage beneath one's station, or a mere alliance, which implies a pact of mutual benefit, a misalliance is a broader verdict of intrinsic unsuitability. It is the dissonant clatter of fine china in a tenement kitchen, the intellectual wedded to the incurious, the delicate spirit yoked to the brute—a formal contract built on the shifting sand of a fundamental misunderstanding, a testament to the human capacity to commit formally to a known mistake.
noun
- An unsuitable alliance, especially an unsuitable marriage.“A misalliance is more shocking to a Frenchman than to an Englishman, and Talleyrand was very French in his appreciation of the importance of family, and in his insistence upon outward correctness of behaviour.”