misidentify

verb

mis·​iden·​ti·​fy ˌmis-ī-ˈden-tə-ˌfī 

-ə-ˈden-

misidentified; misidentifying

transitive verb

: 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

While examining the American Museum's collection, I came across a mongoose specimen that was clearly misidentified.

—W. Chris Wozencraft

Examples of misidentify in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Doing the work remotely can create safety risks because inspectors may miss or misidentify maintenance problems, the reported stated. —ABC News, 20 Feb. 2026

This post was corrected after misidentifying Council President Julie Menin. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 12 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for misidentify

• canaliculi
• dwi
• micronuclei
• oversimplify
• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify