How to Use misunderstanding in a Sentence

misunderstanding

noun
  • We had our little misunderstandings in the past but we managed to clear them up long ago.
  • Her comments reflect a misunderstanding of the basic problem.
  • The instructions are carefully written in order to avoid misunderstanding.
  • The misunderstanding comes on the heels of two deadly mass shootings in as many weeks in the U.S.
    — Fox News, 29 May 2022
  • And if not hate, then at least misunderstanding, or a lack of good will.
    — Gwen Faulkenberry, arkansasonline.com, 12 Dec. 2024
  • The case was closed in what police said may have been sparked by a misunderstanding.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 21 Dec. 2022
  • In this instance there was a weird misunderstanding about which some of the people on the WGA Board chose to assume the worst.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 10 May 2025
  • The roughness in the slow transition from girl to woman—the fumbling, the misunderstanding, the pain—has been left in for the viewer to see.
    — Caira Conner, The Atlantic, 15 Oct. 2020
  • That case was pending at the time of his death and the ex-girlfriend later called it a misunderstanding.
    — CBS News, 20 Aug. 2019
  • This way, error misunderstandings will be a thing of the past.
    — Judith Magyar, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
  • Seth thinks there may be a misunderstanding, and nope, this was not the answer to give Meredith, my guy.
    — Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2021
  • Hopefully this is all about a misunderstanding for his good but also for the good of the club and the entire league.
    — Pat Brennan, Cincinnati.com, 15 Feb. 2020
  • There is a lot of misunderstanding out there about 80/20.
    — Dave Philippi, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
  • Yet Srinivasan warns us against letting the fear of misunderstanding get in the way of saying what needs to be said.
    — Jennifer Wilson, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2021
  • The caller was unable to persuade the bank the account had been closed as part of a misunderstanding.
    — La Cañada Valley Sun, 23 Oct. 2019
  • Try to look at this as a misunderstanding that caused hurt feelings on both sides.
    — cleveland.com, 20 Aug. 2019
  • The fight over school food has been rife with misunderstanding and tension.
    — Noemie Bisserbe, WSJ, 14 July 2021
  • The problem, here, is a misunderstanding of how leagues work.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2020
  • But the screen name did lead to a funny misunderstanding.
    — Victoria Edel, People.com, 11 Dec. 2024
  • And Mars just shows a deep misunderstanding of how all of this stuff works, and the countless things that make Earth perfect for human life.
    — WIRED, 8 Sep. 2022
  • If your emotions get in the way of reason, a misunderstanding will spin out of control.
    — Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2024
  • All-out war among the women is the result of what should’ve been a minor misunderstanding.
    — Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Feb. 2022
  • Mine was the sin of misunderstanding, of thinking that a clinical trial was the point of the story.
    — Ann Patchett, Harper's Magazine, 5 Jan. 2021
  • There was a misunderstanding between the pair about that day.
    — Vincent T. Davis, San Antonio Express-News, 5 July 2021
  • While some have shared their thoughts on the creator's outfit, most have laughed along with Irvine and her partner about the misunderstanding.
    — Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
  • It was found to be a misunderstanding and all items and money were returned to the proper people.
    — cleveland, 23 Dec. 2020
  • In the churnings of wartime (and not only then, the adult Stoppard might say), entire lives can change course in the wake of a simple misunderstanding.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2021
  • This seemed to me to be a fundamental misunderstanding of what Judd was up to.
    — Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 18 Jan. 2022
  • Through a series of misunderstandings and mishaps, the pair charmingly begin an affair of their own.
    — Rance Collins, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Greco and her attorney said the incident with the chip bag was a misunderstanding.
    — ABC News, 27 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misunderstanding.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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