mishear

verb

mis·​hear ˌmis-ˈhir How to pronounce mishear (audio)
misheard ˌmis-ˈhərd How to pronounce mishear (audio) ; mishearing ˌmis-ˈhir-iŋ How to pronounce mishear (audio)

transitive verb

: to hear wrongly

intransitive verb

: to misunderstand what is heard

Examples of mishear in a Sentence

You misheard me. I said I was feeling anxious, not angry. I must have misheard the instructions. I misheard “mother” as “mutter.”
Recent Examples on the Web She's confused: Did Adrian mishear something or is Brayden being manipulative? Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 4 July 2023 The people in her stories mishear and misunderstand one another, indulge in compulsive wordplay and defiant corniness. Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023 If men often mishear women’s ritual indirectness as lacking confidence (or even competence), women often misinterpret less indirect rituals as overbearing—and also lacking in confidence. Deborah Tannen, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2016 Now, don’t mishear me. San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2022 Biden didn’t seem to mishear the question. Stephen Collinson, CNN, 19 Sep. 2022 Responding, Thompson defended the profession and appeared either to mishear the host or not know who Sean Bean was. K.j. Yossman, Variety, 11 Aug. 2022 In roughly 150 of the recordings, the broadcaster says the assistant appears to have activated incorrectly after mishearing its wake word. Casey Newton, The Verge, 12 July 2019 On Twitter, the reporter who wrote the article said the mistake happened because the comment by Buttigieg happened with a noisy background, causing the reporter to mishear the recording while transcribing at a rally. Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 11 Nov. 2019

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

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of mishear was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near mishear

Cite this Entry

“Mishear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mishear. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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