mischaracterize

verb

mis·​char·​ac·​ter·​ize ˌmis-ˈker-ik-tə-ˌrīz 

-ˈka-rik-

mischaracterized; mischaracterizing

transitive verb

: 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

Examples of mischaracterize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Clemishire’s lawsuit, which was filed in 2025, claimed that Morris and other church leaders defamed her in an internal statement to staff and mischaracterized the abuse. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Sep. 2026

The state’s attorney general took shots at Sankey, mischaracterizing his testimony. — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Critics are now railing against Weiss for her role overseeing the newsroom that produced the piece and shaping part of the article, which many see as not merely taking the words out of context but wholly mischaracterizing them. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026

Gatti and others expressed support of AB 2624, saying opponents have mischaracterized its intent. — Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mischaracterize

• contextualize
• industrialize
• materialise
• materialize
• memorialize
• microenterprise
• overemphasize
• particularize
• revolutionise
• revolutionize
• actualize
• antagonize