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 of miscalculation

• mistake

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

His inconsistencies were glaring, sounding off alarm bells about whether Drury had made a miscalculation. — Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 21 July 2026

And the epilogue, which takes place many years later, feels like a miscalculation. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 July 2026

The problem is Will Ferrell as Lonnie Hawkins, an utter miscalculation of characterization and performance chiefly responsible for turning what could be middling comedy into an unbearable slog. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 16 July 2026

The obvious — though not necessarily correct — assumption is that a big and dumbass engineering error is at fault here, a miscalculation that the structural columns of the old building would be able to carry the new stories on top and couldn’t. — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 14 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for miscalculation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration