misinterpret

verb

mis·​in·​ter·​pret ˌmi-sᵊn-ˈtər-prət How to pronounce misinterpret (audio)
-pət
misinterpreted; misinterpreting; misinterprets

transitive verb

1
: to explain wrongly
His comment on the speech misinterprets the speaker's meaning.
2
: to understand wrongly
Her silence should not be misinterpreted as consent.

Examples of misinterpret in a Sentence

He claims that his statements have been misinterpreted by the media. Her silence should not be misinterpreted as consent.
Recent Examples on the Web Her research showed Black, Deaf users are concerned about the potential for AI systems to misinterpret signs, generate poor captions, take jobs from interpreters, and disadvantage individuals who opt for manual interpretation. Paresh Dave, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024 The cone, introduced 22 years ago, has been misinterpreted by the general public practically since day one. Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2024 Students for Fair Admissions contended that the government had misinterpreted Chief Justice Roberts’s footnote as an exception for military academies. Abbie Vansickle, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024 The debate reached a fever pitch in September 2022 as powerful Hurricane Ian approached Florida, and both public officials and private citizens misinterpreted the graphic. USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024 Late Tuesday in a prepared statement, Wendy’s said it was misinterpreted in a prepared statement. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024 Prosecutors spent the bulk of a 17-page motion discrediting Boutros’ testimony, arguing that Boutros misinterpreted what Moretti said and mischaracterized how it was handled by her office. Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2024 La Opinión under Lozano expanded from focusing largely on foreign news to covering local issues important to Latinos that the English-language media either ignored or grossly misinterpreted. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023 But Kennan believed that his ideas had been badly misinterpreted. Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misinterpret.' 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

1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of misinterpret was in 1547

Dictionary Entries Near misinterpret

Cite this Entry

“Misinterpret.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misinterpret. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

misinterpret

verb
mis·​in·​ter·​pret ˌmis-ᵊn-ˈtər-prət How to pronounce misinterpret (audio)
-pət
: to understand or explain wrongly
misinterpretation noun

More from Merriam-Webster on misinterpret

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