misinterpret

play

verb mis·in·ter·pret \ˌmi-s^ən-ˈtər-prət, -pət\

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.

misinterpretation

play \-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

Guiao said in his email to me that the audit is being misinterpreted by some.

— mark naymik, cleveland.com, "St. Ignatius alumni battle over two theology teachers -- and identity of the school: Mark Naymik", 1 June 2017
Heather had suspended Gidion for writing a disturbing essay, but Corynn — who shows up unexpectedly in the classroom just 72 hours after the boy’s death — said the teacher misinterpreted his words.

— pam kragen, sandiegouniontribune.com, "InnerMission's 'Gidion's Knot' a dark battle over blame", 27 May 2017
Some, like Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, were simply misinterpreted as attacks on science.

— misha glenny, WIRED, "How Europe Can Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Future", 1 Feb. 2001

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.