misjudge

1 of 2

verb

mis·​judge ˌmis-ˈjəj 

misjudged; misjudging; misjudges

intransitive verb

: to be mistaken in judgment

transitive verb

1

: to estimate wrongly

I misjudged how long this would take.

2

: to have an unjust opinion of

I'm sorry that I misjudged you.

misjudgment

ˌmis-ˈjəj-mənt 

noun

misjudgment

2 of 2

noun

mis·​judgment

variants or misjudgement

(ˈ)mis+

: incorrect or distorted judgment

the accident was caused by his misjudgment of the sharpness of the curve

his prejudices have led him into a serious misjudgment of his opponent

Synonyms of misjudge

Verb

• misunderstand
• underestimate
• miscalculate
• mistake
• misconceive

Examples of misjudge in a Sentence

Verb

I can see that I've completely misjudged you. I apologize.

The outfielder misjudged the fly ball and it went over his head.

The pilot misjudged the landing.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Deebo Samuel, not Cowing, was the team’s punt returner to open the game, and Cowing misjudged one of his early attempts, allowing the ball to bounce in front of him. — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

The extent of harm, after all, can be misjudged by those suffering it, and complaints are not always offered by the frightened captive. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Investors are misjudging, and then correcting, who or what will actually capture AI’s value. — Diane Brady, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026

According to reporting by CalMatters, these surveillance systems gave lower scores to nurses who stayed on the phone longer than 15 minutes and often misjudged the emotional context of their conversations. — Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

mis- entry 1 + judgment

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for misjudge

• adjudge
• begrudge
• prejudge
• budge
• drudge
• frage
• fudge
• grudge
• judge
• mudge
• nudge
• rudge

Kids Definition

misjudge

verb

mis·​judge (ˈ)mis-ˈjəj 

: to judge wrongly or unfairly

misjudgment

-ˈjəj-mənt 

noun