miscalculation

noun

mis·​cal·​cu·​la·​tion ˌmis-ˌkal-kyə-ˈlā-shən 

plural miscalculations

: a mistake in calculation : wrong calculation

a costly miscalculation

… ruled that utility shareholders, not electricity consumers, must pay for some or all of the miscalculations that resulted in excessive expansion or cost overruns.

—Peter Nulty

Synonyms

• misapprehension
• misjudging
• misjudgment
• misstep
• mistake
• slip
• slipup

Examples of miscalculation in a Sentence

treating her opponent as an intellectual lightweight was a serious miscalculation on her part

Recent Examples on the Web

Secret armaments or doctrinal shifts without public messaging will only make adversaries more paranoid and a full-on arms race all but inevitable, raising the risk of miscalculation by someone, somewhere, somehow. —Andreas Kluth, The Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2024

But eventual de-escalation and containment are never guaranteed; any state’s rational calculations favoring restraint can suddenly be overtaken by events on the ground, leading to miscalculations or even intentional strategic decisions to provoke a wider conflict. —Dalia Dassa Kaye, Foreign Affairs, 5 Aug. 2024

Clothing also came out quite well, with no signs of any miscalculations in the different layers. —Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2024

Even worse, an accelerated bombing campaign would increase the risk of escalation and miscalculation. —Alexandra Stark, Foreign Affairs, 2 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined above