as in to misstate
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Recent Examples of misspeak
The health secretary also appeared to misspeak at the meeting, saying two people had died of the disease.
—
Devi Shastri and Amanda Seitz The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2025
These leaders don’t merely lie or misspeak or make light of life and death.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
Walz was criticized following the Oct. 1 debate for flubbing an answer about allegedly misspeaking about being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024
The Kremlin’s propaganda often uses instances of Biden misspeaking as proof of his ineptitude as the man in charge of Ukraine’s top military backer.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 12 July 2024
Elsewhere, Claude and Angot’s mother, who had Christine out of wedlock and fought to get her father to recognize his child in a legal sense, are both similarly upbraided for misspeaking about Christine’s trauma in subtle ways, or for not being sympathetic in the right way.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024
People are just supposed to like you — you’re not supposed to misspeak, look fat, date the wrong person, have your makeup look a different color.
—Elias Leight, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2022
Dear Annie: Here is another perspective on the hyperaccurate person who corrects everyone who misspeaks.
—Annie Lane, oregonlive, 19 May 2020
In interviews, some voters said Mr. Gantz reminded them of Yitzhak Rabin, who also could misspeak and appear embarrassed when facing the news media.
—David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2019
Devi Shastri and Amanda Seitz The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2025
These leaders don’t merely lie or misspeak or make light of life and death.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
Walz was criticized following the Oct. 1 debate for flubbing an answer about allegedly misspeaking about being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024
The Kremlin’s propaganda often uses instances of Biden misspeaking as proof of his ineptitude as the man in charge of Ukraine’s top military backer.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 12 July 2024
Elsewhere, Claude and Angot’s mother, who had Christine out of wedlock and fought to get her father to recognize his child in a legal sense, are both similarly upbraided for misspeaking about Christine’s trauma in subtle ways, or for not being sympathetic in the right way.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024
People are just supposed to like you — you’re not supposed to misspeak, look fat, date the wrong person, have your makeup look a different color.
—Elias Leight, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2022
Dear Annie: Here is another perspective on the hyperaccurate person who corrects everyone who misspeaks.
—Annie Lane, oregonlive, 19 May 2020
In interviews, some voters said Mr. Gantz reminded them of Yitzhak Rabin, who also could misspeak and appear embarrassed when facing the news media.
—David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspeak
Verb
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Correction: Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story misstated the name of the hospital where Lindsay Clancy is being treated.—
John R. Ellement,
BostonGlobe.com,
1 May 2023
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An earlier version of this article misstated Emily Busch’s position.—
Chuck Todd,
NBC News,
18 Apr. 2023
Verb
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Likewise, generative AI might have misinterpreted my prompt and improperly laid out what needed to be done.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
-
The district denied the allegations in a statement, saying the issue has been misinterpreted.—
Jackson Walker,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Avoid guessing or making up a story that misrepresents the financial facts.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
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This alienation extends beyond the field, affecting how women in rugby and other sports are misrepresented and underrepresented in the media.—
Paige Perricone,
The Denver Post,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Only in our current cultural moment, the stakes and outcomes are distorted in ways an artist of Simone’s era could never recognize.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
1 Mar. 2025
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But that bag still has a way of distorting things for some players.—
Danny Emerman,
The Mercury News,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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SecNav’s just a big fan, and that message got garbled in a chain-of-command game of telephone.—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
11 Feb. 2025
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Without such compatibility, data can be garbled or lost when moving from the radio to the baseband unit, or vice versa.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
23 Apr. 2021
Verb
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In the ComEd Four case, the four defendants were convicted for falsifying books and records, not any bribery of foreign officials that the law originally sought to punish, the defense pointed out in asking Shah last month to stay the proceedings.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2025
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Last May, supporters of Donald Trump adopted the gesture when he was convicted of falsifying business records.—
Brad Wieners,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Also, use your range hood while cooking to remove evaporating grease and immediately clean up splatters and spills.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 Mar. 2025
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The Duchess of Sussex got the idea for the project after cooking with women who suffered in the Grenfell Tower fire at the Hubb Community Kitchen.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
6 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Putin’s constant lies and dissembling undermined his credibility to international interlocutors, such as President Emmanuel Macron of France.—
Lawrence D. Freedman,
Foreign Affairs,
23 Sep. 2022
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Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
19 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Misspeak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspeak. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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