misunderstand

verb

(ˌ)mi-ˌsən-dər-ˈstand How to pronounce misunderstand (audio)
Definition of misunderstandnext
as in to miss
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of you misunderstood that poem because you took everything so literally

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of misunderstand The Value Of Speed To Investors Investors are now explicitly pricing speed and AI leverage into term sheets, reshaping how fintechs build teams and prioritize their roadmaps, yet Chisell says many founders still misunderstand how AI works. — Alison Coleman, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 What’s something people misunderstand about female friendships in wrestling? — Perrie Samotin, Glamour, 31 July 2026 Often in the past intelligence has been equated to technology, but to solely rely on technology as a measure of intelligence misunderstands what intelligence is. — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 27 July 2026 This seemed to misunderstand the limitations of space and time in a museum that has no shortage of Founding Fathers material. — Kelsey Ables, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for misunderstand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misunderstand
  1. miss
  2. mistake
  3. misread
  4. misconstrue
  5. misinterpret
  6. misapprehend
Verb
  • Wilson was back on the practice field Sunday, despite missing much of training camp with an injury, and will likely open the season as Seattle’s third-string running back.
    — Andrew Destin, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The death toll in last week’s devastating flooding in Nepal has risen to 903 people, officials said Monday, as the number of those listed as missing nearly doubled to 4,247.
    — Rudy Chinchilla, NBC news, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of miss
Verb
  • In September 2011, Daniels, then a 17-year-old dropout and a member of the Bloods, was walking to the laundromat with his sister when rival gang members approached her — mistaking her for Daniels’ other sister, who was also caught up in the streets.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • And both times, there was no mistaking who the gallery wanted to win.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of mistake
Verb
  • The backlash intensified after reports of immigration authorities accessing Flock data, officers abusing the network to stalk women, and misreads that led to innocent people held at gunpoint.
    — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Here is the part that gets misread as a story about one industry or one demographic.
    — Jasmine Browley, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of misread
Verb
  • Outsiders may misconstrue these behaviors as evidence that a trauma did not actually happen or that a survivor lacks credibility.
    — Michele Patterson Ford, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2026
  • His attorneys feared Paul was trying to coax Fauci to say something under oath that could be misconstrued and used to prosecute him.
    — Michael Collins, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of misconstrue
Verb
  • Testimony is an account and people are often wrong or misinterpret about what happened to them.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Legal and other professionals unaware of the range of natural responses to trauma can easily misinterpret these behaviors as signs of lying or malingering.
    — Michele Patterson Ford, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of misinterpret
Verb
  • That is true of leaders anywhere, but Israel’s history has predisposed some of its policymakers to focus excessively on day-to-day survival and to misapprehend or ignore strategic dynamics as a result.
    — Andrew P. Miller, Foreign Affairs, 5 Dec. 2025
  • But would her students, turned on everywhere by the dogma of political correctness, misapprehend Haynes’s aim?
    — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 June 2023
Definition of misapprehend

Browse Nearby Words

mistyping
misunderstand
misunderstanding
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Misunderstand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misunderstand. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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