misunderstand

verb

mis·​un·​der·​stand (ˌ)mi-ˌsən-dər-ˈstand 

misunderstood (ˌ)mi-ˌsən-dər-ˈstu̇d  ; misunderstanding

transitive verb

1

: to fail to understand

I misunderstood the message.

2

: to interpret incorrectly

I think you misunderstood my intentions.

Synonyms of misunderstand

• miss
• mistake
• misread
• misconstrue
• misinterpret
• misapprehend

Examples of misunderstand in a Sentence

Don't misunderstand me—I'm not criticizing your decision.

He feels that the critics have completely misunderstood his movies.

She expressed herself in clear terms that no one could misunderstand.

Recent Examples on the Web

Often in the past intelligence has been equated to technology, but to solely rely on technology as a measure of intelligence misunderstands what intelligence is. — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 27 July 2026

This seemed to misunderstand the limitations of space and time in a museum that has no shortage of Founding Fathers material. — Kelsey Ables, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026

Don’t misunderstand me—Marx, too, recognized the fact that capitalism had, in its fashion, enriched our lives as well. — Literary Hub, 23 July 2026

This argument isn’t wrong, but fundamentally misunderstands that humans too are doing the same thing – recombining ideas is precisely what creates genuinely new ones. — Michael Muthukrishna, Fortune, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misunderstand

• analysand
• ampersand
• beforehand
• behindhand
• bottomland
• contraband
• countermand
• dixieland
• fairyland
• fatherland
• firebrand
• hinterland

Kids Definition

misunderstand

verb

mis·​un·​der·​stand (ˌ)mis-ˌən-dər-ˈstand 

misunderstood -ˈstu̇d  ; misunderstanding

1

: to fail to understand

2

: to interpret incorrectly