misinterpret

verb

mis·​in·​ter·​pret ˌmi-sᵊn-ˈtər-prət How to pronounce misinterpret (audio)
-pət
misinterpreted; misinterpreting; misinterprets

transitive verb

1
: to explain wrongly
His comment on the speech misinterprets the speaker's meaning.
2
: to understand wrongly
Her silence should not be misinterpreted as consent.

Examples of misinterpret in a Sentence

He claims that his statements have been misinterpreted by the media. Her silence should not be misinterpreted as consent.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Even kind gestures or neutral actions can be misinterpreted as hostile or manipulative. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025 That has often been misinterpreted as a cynical endorsement of warfare. Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025 These failures occurred when the AI models confabulated successful operations and built subsequent actions on false premises, highlighting the risks of depending on AI assistants that can misinterpret file structures or fabricate data to hide their errors. ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2025 Employees on Microsoft Teams were 71 percent more likely than those on Slack to say emojis were often misinterpreted on the platform. Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for misinterpret

Word History

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of misinterpret was in 1547

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Misinterpret.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misinterpret. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

misinterpret

verb
mis·​in·​ter·​pret ˌmis-ᵊn-ˈtər-prət How to pronounce misinterpret (audio)
-pət
: to understand or explain wrongly
misinterpretation noun

More from Merriam-Webster on misinterpret

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