misrepresent

verb

mis·​rep·​re·​sent (ˌ)mis-ˌre-pri-ˈzent 

misrepresented; misrepresenting; misrepresents

transitive verb

1

: to give a false or misleading representation of usually with an intent to deceive or be unfair

misrepresented the facts

2

: to serve badly or improperly as a representative of

misrepresentation

(ˌ)mis-ˌre-pri-ˌzen-ˈtā-shən 

-zən-

noun

misrepresentative

(ˌ)mis-ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv 

adjective

Synonyms

• distort

Examples of misrepresent in a Sentence

The company is accused of misrepresenting its earnings.

The movie deliberately misrepresents the facts about her life.

Recent Examples on the Web

Republican lawmakers have largely rallied around Trump, accusing Democrats of misrepresenting the legislation. —Zac Anderson, USA Today, 2 July 2025

The claims misrepresent both the nature and scale of violence affecting white farmers. —Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 July 2025

Newsom alleges that Fox’s hosts misrepresented his call with Trump, falsely implying that the California governor lied. —Bethany Wales, Sacbee.com, 27 June 2025

Young mothers are also living among the dissonance of teenage girlhood and parenthood, subject to the joys and challenges of both, and often misrepresented and othered because of it. —Leila Mottley june 27, Literary Hub, 27 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misrepresent

• accent
• advent
• ascent
• assent
• augment
• cement
• consent
• dement
• descent
• detent
• dissent
• event

Kids Definition

misrepresent

verb

mis·​rep·​re·​sent (ˌ)mis-ˌrep-ri-ˈzent 

: to give a false or misleading idea of

misrepresentation

(ˌ)mis-ˌrep-ri-ˌzen-ˈtā-shən 

noun

Legal Definition

misrepresent

transitive verb

mis·​rep·​re·​sent mis-ˌre-pri-ˈzent 

: to make a misrepresentation about

intransitive verb

: to make a misrepresentation

misrepresentative

-ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv 

adjective

misrepresenter noun