mischaracterize
verb
mis·char·ac·ter·ize
ˌmis-ˈker-ik-tə-ˌrīz 
-ˈka-rik-
mischaracterized; mischaracterizing
: to characterize (someone or something) wrongly
mischaracterized his position on the issue
In many cases, the problems that the news media, activists, and politicians hype are real enough; however they are frequently greatly exaggerated and mischaracterized …—
Benjamin Radford
Benjamin RadfordExamples of mischaracterize in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
An earlier version mischaracterized the figure.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 13 Feb. 2026
Besides mischaracterizing the people documenting federal agents’ abuse, the author seems not to understand the First Amendment.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 9 Feb. 2026
The director claimed the next day in a social media post that he was mischaracterized and that he's fully aligned with Secretary Kennedy on finding the root cause of autism.
—CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
The campaign mischaracterizes facts about same-sex parenting through California cases designed to maximize outrage, while specifically targeting in vitro fertilization and surrogacy as purported gateways to promoting LGBTQ+ families.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
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Annie Palmer, CNBC, 13 Feb. 2026
Besides mischaracterizing the people documenting federal agents’ abuse, the author seems not to understand the First Amendment.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 9 Feb. 2026
The director claimed the next day in a social media post that he was mischaracterized and that he's fully aligned with Secretary Kennedy on finding the root cause of autism.
—CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
The campaign mischaracterizes facts about same-sex parenting through California cases designed to maximize outrage, while specifically targeting in vitro fertilization and surrogacy as purported gateways to promoting LGBTQ+ families.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mischaracterize
Cite this Entry
“Mischaracterize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mischaracterize. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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