as in to misunderstand
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of
claimed that the press had misconstrued her comments
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Recent Examples of misconstrue
This can also help public audiences more easily identify when science is being misconstrued and misinterpreted.
—
Kirstin R.w. Matthews, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
Attorney John Dillon, who represents Knife Rights and the other plaintiffs, argued that Friday’s ruling misconstrued the law.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
And there are those who misconstrue a factual anecdote for boastfulness.
—Oc Register, 18 Jan. 2026
That reminds me a lot of the ways footage or stories around trans people and their actions in the world can be distorted and misconstrued and twisted in a different way to work against us.
—Joe Lynch, Billboard, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misconstrue
Kirstin R.w. Matthews, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
Attorney John Dillon, who represents Knife Rights and the other plaintiffs, argued that Friday’s ruling misconstrued the law.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
And there are those who misconstrue a factual anecdote for boastfulness.
—Oc Register, 18 Jan. 2026
That reminds me a lot of the ways footage or stories around trans people and their actions in the world can be distorted and misconstrued and twisted in a different way to work against us.
—Joe Lynch, Billboard, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misconstrue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misconstrue
Verb
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David Schurman Wallace on misunderstanding Gertrude Stein.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
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This could be along the lines of a passive-aggressive email or a coworker misunderstanding your tone.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Justice Department lawyers argued that Boasberg set too high a standard for prosecutors to meet at the early stages of an investigation and misinterpreted the timeline of the probe.—
Andrew Goudsward,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
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Despite that promise, reports indicate the tool often misinterprets requests.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Even experienced players can misread a pitch by inches, which makes deciding whether to challenge even more difficult.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
28 Mar. 2026
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Johnston thinks the administration badly misread the situation from the start.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misconstrue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misconstrue. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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