misinterpret
verb
mis·in·ter·pret
ˌmi-sᵊn-ˈtər-prət 
-pət
misinterpreted; misinterpreting; misinterprets
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.
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 on the Web
And law enforcement officials could easily misinterpret data showing that, for example, someone’s Christmas lights flick on at the same time every night, as an indication of light and climate control equipment for a pot grow, Schwartz said.
—
Sacbee.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Somehow, some way, both FOX Sports and Yahoo Sports misinterpreted Morosi and in the minutes that followed, both sent off posts of their own citing the reporter claiming that the Twins had dealt Ryan to the Red Sox.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 4 Aug. 2025
Timberlake said he was raised to keep health matters private but wanted to be transparent to avoid his symptoms being misinterpreted.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2025
The silence shouldn’t be misinterpreted as a sign that benefits have fallen out of favor, according to Ben Conley, an attorney at Seyfarth Shaw who was hired by several top companies to set up the travel coverage in 2022.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for misinterpret
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.
Sacbee.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Somehow, some way, both FOX Sports and Yahoo Sports misinterpreted Morosi and in the minutes that followed, both sent off posts of their own citing the reporter claiming that the Twins had dealt Ryan to the Red Sox.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 4 Aug. 2025
Timberlake said he was raised to keep health matters private but wanted to be transparent to avoid his symptoms being misinterpreted.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2025
The silence shouldn’t be misinterpreted as a sign that benefits have fallen out of favor, according to Ben Conley, an attorney at Seyfarth Shaw who was hired by several top companies to set up the travel coverage in 2022.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for misinterpret
Cite this Entry
“Misinterpret.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misinterpret. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share