misidentify
verb
mis·iden·ti·fy
ˌmis-ī-ˈden-tə-ˌfī 
-ə-ˈden-
misidentified; misidentifying
: to identify (someone or something) incorrectly
… a coroner apparently misidentified the bullet he removed from the victim, stating that its caliber differed from that of the bullet entered as evidence against the known shooter.—
David Fisher
David FisherWhile examining the American Museum's collection, I came across a mongoose specimen that was clearly misidentified.—W. Chris Wozencraft
W. Chris WozencraftExamples of misidentify in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sources told The News that city officials have also expressed concern regarding facial recognition’s tendency toward misidentifying the age of younger users — a tendency currently being studied by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 6 May 2026
The Post last year reported that an early version of directory was rife with errors, including misidentifying which health care providers were covered by which health care plans.
—Arkansas Online, 2 May 2026
Some of Fiedler’s fellow plaintiffs were charged with deliberately misidentifying people as gang members, but a judge later dismissed the case against them.
—City News Service, Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
As late as the 1930s, scholars would misidentify the porcelain as produced by other dynasties.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misidentify
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 6 May 2026
The Post last year reported that an early version of directory was rife with errors, including misidentifying which health care providers were covered by which health care plans.
—Arkansas Online, 2 May 2026
Some of Fiedler’s fellow plaintiffs were charged with deliberately misidentifying people as gang members, but a judge later dismissed the case against them.
—City News Service, Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
As late as the 1930s, scholars would misidentify the porcelain as produced by other dynasties.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misidentify
Cite this Entry
“Misidentify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misidentify. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
