mistook

verb

past tense of mistake
1
as in misunderstood
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of the auctioneer mistook my nod for a bid, and I ended up buying a painting I don't even like

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in misjudged
to make an incorrect judgment regarding you seriously mistake me if you think I scare so easily

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3
as in confused
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related she mistook physical attraction for love

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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 mistook This is far from the first time someone mistook one celebrity for another. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026 Five seconds later, Trujillo was also hit — shot by an officer who, according to Chandler Police, mistook Trujillo for the suspect. — Laura Geller, CBS News, 13 July 2026 Foster’s songs became ubiquitous—people sometimes mistook them for folk songs even during his lifetime—and were performed everywhere from back porches to opera houses, in every genre imaginable. — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026 While walking alongside his teammates, Kolek, 25, was briefly stopped by police, who seemingly mistook him for a fan. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 19 June 2026 Experts in Italy accidentally mistook a three for an eight, and misdated an important, 14th-century Madonna and Child painting, now up for auction. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 10 June 2026 All of this comes after reports on how Kate Middleton once had a pretty funny response after someone mistook her for Prince William’s assistant. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 3 June 2026 Alvarez, 41, was in MacArthur Park on May 18 when he was approached by two police officers, who initially mistook him as the suspect in a vehicle theft, according to a Justice Department news release and a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in the Central District of California. — Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026 Samara Weaving and Margot Robbie bear a striking resemblance to one another—so much so, apparently, that a fan once mistook her for the Barbie actress. — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 29 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mistook
  1. misunderstood
  2. misjudged
  3. confused
  4. missed
  5. underestimated
Verb
  • Either dark energy is a real phenomenon, causing the universe to grow bigger at a faster and faster rate, or there is no dark energy at all, and scientists have somehow misunderstood the laws of gravity at cosmic scales.
    — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 1 July 2026
  • The county argues the grand jury fundamentally misunderstood what happened before the explosion, saying its investigation relied on speculation instead of evidence and wrongly blamed county officials for a criminal enterprise prosecutors say was built on years of deception.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 23 June 2026
Definition of misunderstood
Verb
  • Instead, of course, Dubas either misjudged the value of his assets or, more likely, misjudged how challenging the market would be.
    — Josh Yohe, New York Times, 27 July 2026
  • Ginsburg misjudged an unknowable future; Biden failed to respond to a visible present.
    — Michael Sonnenfeldt, Fortune, 19 July 2026
Definition of misjudged
Verb
  • And this isn't even the first time the USC athletic department has gotten its ancient Greek literature confused.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026
  • The Blazers say a handshake agreement with Mayor Keith Wilson, the city and the county was made in March, and are confused why there has been a shift.
    — Jason Quick, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of confused
Verb
  • Isbel has missed nearly two months with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
    — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Offensive lineman Jager Burton (hamstring) also missed practice, while Kraft (knee) and guard Aaron Banks (nee/management) both practiced.
    — Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of missed
Verb
  • Columbus, like many before him, underestimated the size of the Earth.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 July 2026
  • The operational cost of scaling it is frequently underestimated.
    — Prajkta Waditwar, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of underestimated

Browse Nearby Words

mistitling
mistook
mistranslate
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Cite this Entry

“Mistook.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mistook. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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