misinterpret

verb mis·in·ter·pret \ ˌmi-sᵊn-ˈtər-prət , -pət \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Examples: misinterpret in a Sentence

Definition of misinterpret

transitive verb

1 : to explain wrongly

His comment on the speech misinterprets the speaker's meaning.

2 : to understand wrongly

Her silence should not be misinterpreted as consent.

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misinterpretation

play \ˌmi-sᵊn-ˌtər-prə-ˈtā-shən, -pə-\ noun

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Examples of misinterpret in a Sentence

He claims that his statements have been misinterpreted by the media.
Her silence should not be misinterpreted as consent.

Recent Examples of misinterpret from the Web

Someone in a position of power who is interested in a relationship with a student could misinterpret polite messages as more intimate than intended.

— karen herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Social media, texting are slippery slopes for sexual harassment on UW campuses," 6 June 2018
But Grenell has since insisted that his remarks have been misinterpreted.

— nadine schmidt and judith vonberg, CNN, "US Ambassador to Germany provokes backlash with Breitbart interview," 4 June 2018
Watchdogs called them out on social media for misinterpreting the remarks.

— paulina dedaj, Fox News, "CNN anchor slammed over questions suggesting Trump campaign-MS-13 parallel," 2 June 2018
However, over the weekend, one right-wing pundit took it upon himself to accuse King of misinterpreting her father's words and offer his own (wildly incorrect) interpretation instead.

— andrea park, Teen Vogue, "Right-Wing Blogger Lucian Wintrich Tried to Mansplain Martin Luther King Jr.'s Teachings to Bernice King," 21 May 2018
Kadel believes the encounters reported by the Globe were consensual or misinterpreted.

— fiza pirani, ajc, "#MeToo: A timeline of 2018’s sexual harassment scandals," 16 May 2018
People, all of us, lead complicated lives, misinterpret situations, get angry, make mistakes.

— melinda wenner moyer, Scientific American, "More Guns Do Not Stop More Crimes, Evidence Shows," 1 Oct. 2017
Herbst apologized, saying her remarks had been misinterpreted and UConn agreed to pay a settlement of nearly $1.3 million to the young women.

— kathleen megan, courant.com, "UConn President Susan Herbst To Step Down In 2019," 21 May 2018
Schur’s unshakable respect and affection for his various characters occasionally gets misinterpreted as some kind of overt or performative diversity.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "What Michael Schur Gets Right About Love That Everyone Else Gets Wrong," 20 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'misinterpret.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.