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

The two men share a talent for misrepresenting facts and an animosity toward institutions. —Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025

Moreover, though, the show seems to want to confer a kind of authenticity upon a milieu that many worried would be grotesquely misrepresented by creators who aren’t exactly immersed in local journalism. —Jesse Hassenger, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025

The group of climate scientists found several examples where the DOE authors cherry-picked or misrepresented climate science in the agency's report. —Julia Simon, NPR, 2 Sep. 2025

This statement fundamentally misrepresents how research is done. —Brendan Harley, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 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