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

Notable Nigerian President Bola Tinubu made the case for an African rating agency, arguing that the Big Three misjudge African risk and that a homegrown agency could spot progress early, which the global firms would later confirm. — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2026

Both films are engineered to make the audience misjudge who really matters to the tale. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026

Some misjudge its power and are swept away, their final moments lost in the churning abyss. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026

Others have paid a steep price after misjudging how stakeholders would respond. — Van Carlson, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 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