misconstrue

verb

mis·​con·​strue ˌmis-kən-ˈstrü 

misconstrued; misconstruing

transitive verb

1

: to interpret (something, such as a statement or action) wrongly : misinterpret

misconstrued her words/meaning/silence

He does not want his real name used in the newspaper because even the most innocent statement could be misconstrued here and lead to trouble, he says.

—Lynne Duke

I instantly turned away, lest he should see and misconstrue my emotion.

—Anne Brontë

2

: to misinterpret the meaning, intention, or character of (someone)

… it is the post-Vietnam revisionists who have most ironically misconstrued [Herman] Melville.

—Frederick Crews

… a sad sack whom no one would misconstrue as charming.

—Karen Karbo

Synonyms of misconstrue

• misunderstand
• misinterpret
• misread

Examples of misconstrue in a Sentence

claimed that the press had misconstrued her comments

Recent Examples on the Web

His attorneys feared Paul was trying to coax Fauci to say something under oath that could be misconstrued and used to prosecute him. — Michael Collins, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

Sanchez said that the ruling had been intentionally misconstrued by migrant smugglers to convince thousands of people to cross by swimming around the border fence. — ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026

Sánchez said that the ruling had been intentionally misconstrued by migrant smugglers to persuade thousands of people to swim around the border fence. — Sam McNeil, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026

Sherman misconstrued my letter. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 29 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misconstrue

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou

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Kids Definition

misconstrue

verb

mis·​con·​strue

ˌmis-kən-ˈstrü

: to construe wrongly : misinterpret