misrepresent

verb

mis·​rep·​re·​sent (ˌ)mis-ˌre-pri-ˈzent 

misrepresented; misrepresenting; misrepresents

transitive verb

1

: to give a false or misleading representation of usually with an intent to deceive or be unfair

misrepresented the facts

2

: to serve badly or improperly as a representative of

misrepresentation

(ˌ)mis-ˌre-pri-ˌzen-ˈtā-shən 

-zən-

noun

misrepresentative

(ˌ)mis-ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv 

adjective

Synonyms of misrepresent

• distort

Examples of misrepresent in a Sentence

The company is accused of misrepresenting its earnings.

The movie deliberately misrepresents the facts about her life.

Recent Examples on the Web

Portraying New York state and the company as partners in a fraud on the public, the lawsuit said that the company and New York officials repeatedly misrepresented when the company's contract would begin, causing severe disruptions to patient care statewide. —ABC News, 16 June 2026

The lawsuit also accuses the company of misrepresenting the type of content available on its platform. —Skyler Shepard, Sun Sentinel, 15 June 2026

They may have been misrepresented. —Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026

Treating it as a cyber line item misrepresents the scope of those decisions. —Maman Ibrahim, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misrepresent

• accent
• advent
• ascent
• assent
• augment
• cement
• consent
• dement
• descent
• detent
• dissent
• event

Kids Definition

misrepresent

verb

mis·​rep·​re·​sent (ˌ)mis-ˌrep-ri-ˈzent 

: to give a false or misleading idea of

misrepresentation

(ˌ)mis-ˌrep-ri-ˌzen-ˈtā-shən 

noun

Legal Definition

misrepresent

transitive verb

mis·​rep·​re·​sent mis-ˌre-pri-ˈzent 

: to make a misrepresentation about

intransitive verb

: to make a misrepresentation

misrepresentative

-ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv 

adjective

misrepresenter noun