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

2

: to interpret incorrectly

Synonyms

• 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

These actions suggest a sincere connection to his Christian faith, even as his public image was often misunderstood or sensationalized. —Amanda Castro hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025

Lopes said his wife’s captor had misunderstood the amount of crypto Lopes had. —Bruna Horvath, NBC news, 27 July 2025

Here are two key areas of the program that Americans tend to misunderstand: 1. —Lorie Konish, CNBC, 24 July 2025

Actors may be influenced by emotion or misinformation, collude or form cartels, misunderstand incentives or lack information. —Ali Faizan Rizvi, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025

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