1
as in to misrepresent
to change so much as to create a wrong impression or alter the meaning of
his note on this passage in the novel seriously misinterprets the author's meaning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to misunderstand
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of
we misinterpreted the directions and ended up on the wrong side of town
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 misinterpret
In a different context, some people could misinterpret these gendered hiccups as microaggressions.
—
Zachary Bernstein, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026
Fall hopes the data will be useful for policymakers but also worries about them being misinterpreted.
—Lori Youmshajekian, Scientific American, 11 Mar. 2026
With multimodal input from different sensing techniques, such as vision, touch, and joint position awareness, the robot is less likely to misinterpret complex situations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026
One reason is that your words could come across differently depending on the person reading the message, so stick to using short sentences to avoid being misinterpreted.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misinterpret
Zachary Bernstein, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026
Fall hopes the data will be useful for policymakers but also worries about them being misinterpreted.
—Lori Youmshajekian, Scientific American, 11 Mar. 2026
With multimodal input from different sensing techniques, such as vision, touch, and joint position awareness, the robot is less likely to misinterpret complex situations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026
One reason is that your words could come across differently depending on the person reading the message, so stick to using short sentences to avoid being misinterpreted.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misinterpret
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misinterpret
Verb
-
Under the settlement, Match and OkCupid must stop misrepresenting their data practices and privacy controls, but no financial penalties were imposed.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Following the revelation that Immigration and Customs Enforcement misrepresented its authority to arrest people in immigration court, Congressman Dan Goldman Friday demanded ICE and the Department of Homeland Security provide a full accounting of everyone swept up by the aggressive practice.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
David Schurman Wallace on misunderstanding Gertrude Stein.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
-
This could be along the lines of a passive-aggressive email or a coworker misunderstanding your tone.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Objects were frequently distorted or missing key components.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Their shapes often distort as one galaxy exerts tidal forces on the other.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misinterpret.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misinterpret. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
