misunderstanding

noun mis·un·der·stand·ing

Definition of misunderstanding

1 : a failure to understand : misinterpretation

The instructions were carefully written to prevent misunderstanding.

2 : quarrel, disagreement

an unfortunate misunderstanding between two old friends

See misunderstanding defined for English-language learners

See misunderstanding defined for kids

Examples of misunderstanding in a Sentence

The instructions are carefully written in order to avoid misunderstanding.
Her comments reflect a misunderstanding of the basic problem.
using clear language to avoid misunderstandings
an unfortunate misunderstanding between old friends
We had our little misunderstandings in the past but we managed to clear them up long ago.

Recent Examples of misunderstanding from the Web

Part of the problem is general misunderstanding about what actually can and can’t happen.

— kathleen hunter, Bloomberg.com, "Balance of Power: New York Attack Turns Spotlight to Trump’s Home Turf," 1 Nov. 2017
Trump’s claims that his presidency is responsible for the market’s trajectory is further complicated by what occasionally seems to be a misunderstanding of the relationship between the stock market and the federal government.

— gillian b. white, The Atlantic, "Is Trump to Thank for the Dow Hitting 23,000?," 17 Oct. 2017
The House regrets that there seemed to have been a misunderstanding between Louise Parker and her agent about the fact that flying her for a ‘go & see’, fitting does not mean she would be confirmed.

— emilia petrarca, The Cut, "A Model Fights Back After Bad Casting Experience," 2 Oct. 2017
Despite the drama’s decidedly dark subject matter, The Reconstruction of the Crime includes many comedic elements, and the final result is a bumbling adventure built on misunderstanding.

— meilan solly, Smithsonian, "Lost Play By J.M. Barrie Discovered in Texas Archive," 2 Aug. 2017
Without figuring out these elements, a dialogue can quickly encounter turbulence: interruptions, false starts, misunderstandings.

— n.j. enfield, WSJ, "Why Human Speech Depends on Words Like ‘Uh’ and ‘Mm-hmm’," 27 Oct. 2017
Cate has gone from calling the whole incident a misunderstanding to suggesting City Attorney Elliott shared the blame and needed to revise procedures for such memos.

— michael smolens, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Was the SoccerCity memo leak a 'conspiracy'?," 15 Oct. 2017
Democracy scholars are legitimately concerned about Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, while national security experts are absolutely terrified that his attempts to out-crazy North Korea might create a deadly misunderstanding.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Republicans Irked at Corker’s Myopic Obsession With Preventing Catastrophe," 10 Oct. 2017
In normal day-to- day life, this impulsiveness leads to misunderstandings, lying and toxic relationships.

— dr. lance dodes, Newsweek, "'The Most Dangerous Man in the World’: Trump Is Violent, Immature and Insecure, Psych Experts Say," 27 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'misunderstanding.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.