misperception

noun

mis·​per·​cep·​tion ˌmis-pər-ˈsēp-shən 

plural misperceptions

: a false or inaccurate perception

… a host of misperceptions about the '50s, including the skewed notion that women didn't work in the 1950s, especially if they were mothers. Even in the '50s, one-fifth of mothers had paying jobs.

—Jeff Reid

Examples of misperception in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sands said there’s also been a public misperception that the inspectors are new hires whose only job duty is performing the inspections. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025

In speaking with some voters afterward, Allen was struck by several who had misperceptions of aspects of CTE. —Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2025

So there’s a huge amount of misperceptions that fuel a lot of this, and fixing that does actually make people take a step back. —Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025

To try and cope with this misperception, the law seeks to ensure that appropriate cautions and warnings are displayed to users. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1722, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for misperception

• apperception
• contraception
• interception
• misconception
• preconception
• conception
• deception
• exception
• inception
• perception
• reception
• intussusception

Medical Definition

misperception

noun

mis·​per·​cep·​tion ˌmis-pər-ˈsep-shən 

: a false perception