mischaracterize
verb
mis·char·ac·ter·ize
ˌmis-ˈker-ik-tə-ˌrīz 
-ˈka-rik-
mischaracterized; mischaracterizing
: to characterize (someone or something) wrongly
mischaracterized his position on the issue
In many cases, the problems that the news media, activists, and politicians hype are real enough; however they are frequently greatly exaggerated and mischaracterized …—
Benjamin Radford
Benjamin Radford
Examples of mischaracterize in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Further, Trian says Disney has mischaracterized its performance history, which has included investments in DuPont, Heinz and Wendy’s.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
The academics with whom the science of crypto tracing originated acknowledge that it should not be applied as evidence in isolation, or mischaracterized as some sort of a smoking gun.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
Rather than trying to defend the many indefensible parts of our past, history classes should acknowledge the essential humanity and many contributions of all Americans, especially those who have long been mischaracterized by textbooks.
—Jeff Raikes, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
Trump’s quickly lawyers seized on the varying descriptions of the material to suggest that the district attorney’s office was mischaracterizing both the material and the seriousness of the dispute.
—Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
The post also mischaracterizes aluminum by calling it a preservative.
—Nate Trela, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
The intense opposition has greatly troubled workers’ advocates, many of whom have called on Biden to take more aggressive action to ensure companies do not mischaracterize workers as independent contractors simply to save money — denying them better pay and other rights in the process.
—Tony Romm, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024
An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the amount of daily sodium recommended by the FDA.
—Linda Carroll, NBC News, 12 Feb. 2024
Even major news outlets can mischaracterize crucial details about breaking stories.
—Jonathan Freger, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
The academics with whom the science of crypto tracing originated acknowledge that it should not be applied as evidence in isolation, or mischaracterized as some sort of a smoking gun.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
Rather than trying to defend the many indefensible parts of our past, history classes should acknowledge the essential humanity and many contributions of all Americans, especially those who have long been mischaracterized by textbooks.
—Jeff Raikes, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
Trump’s quickly lawyers seized on the varying descriptions of the material to suggest that the district attorney’s office was mischaracterizing both the material and the seriousness of the dispute.
—Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
The post also mischaracterizes aluminum by calling it a preservative.
—Nate Trela, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
The intense opposition has greatly troubled workers’ advocates, many of whom have called on Biden to take more aggressive action to ensure companies do not mischaracterize workers as independent contractors simply to save money — denying them better pay and other rights in the process.
—Tony Romm, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024
An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the amount of daily sodium recommended by the FDA.
—Linda Carroll, NBC News, 12 Feb. 2024
Even major news outlets can mischaracterize crucial details about breaking stories.
—Jonathan Freger, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mischaracterize.' 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
1798, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near mischaracterize
Cite this Entry
“Mischaracterize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mischaracterize. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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