1
as in blunders
a wrong judgment
they made a mistake when they thought the young pitcher was ready to be called up to the major leagues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in errors
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
made a mistake on the exam that almost cost her a passing grade
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in misunderstands
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of
the auctioneer mistook my nod for a bid, and I ended up buying a painting I don't even like
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in underestimates
to make an incorrect judgment regarding
you seriously mistake me if you think I scare so easily
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in confuses
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
she mistook physical attraction for love
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mistakes
Hassan Hassan, Time, 11 Oct. 2025
Cable operators such as Charter and its biggest peer in the sector, Comcast, are working to fix the customer service mistakes of the past in order to sell themselves as the best value option for consumers.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
While minor, the error has drawn public commentary given that Halligan has previously been criticized for similar documentation mistakes in other high-profile cases.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
The Chiefs can live with some mistakes.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2025
These mistakes are not only costly on a game-by-game basis because their suspension ramifications, particularly in a Chelsea squad already carrying several defensive injuries, are key.
—Simon Johnson, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
However, from time to time mistakes will be made and we will not be held liable.
—Jacob Camenker, USA Today, 5 Oct. 2025
From a potentially serious injury sustained by linebacker Dwight Nunoo to a multitude of mistakes, Saturday’s 51-10 loss to the host Connecticut Huskies (4-2) was devastating to FIU (2-3).
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
Unable to admit to its mistakes or spin the narrative, the state deploys silence as a last resort.
—Yangyang Cheng, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
When the user clicks that link, the browser mistakes the malicious prompt for an instruction from the user—and begins carrying it out.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
The extensive embellishment of a score by Bobby Krlic (the English musician who records as the Haxan Cloak), drenched in moody synths and guitar, fits the tone but also adds to the nagging sense that the younger Day-Lewis’ storytelling too often mistakes padding for atmosphere.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
Younger Recently divorced and adjusting to life as an empty nester, fortysomething Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) gains a boost of confidence once a 26-year-old tattoo artist mistakes her for someone his age.
—Hannah Kerns, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
The scene in which Junshik mistakes his family members for lucky strangers would work beautifully in a movie.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2025
Augustus Stonehurst & the Avian Wednesday sends Thing to Willow Hill to look for Stonehurst after Fester mistakes the lunch lady for Lois.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
The boss sees one polished performance and mistakes it for collective strength.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Most shark bites occur because a shark mistakes the human for a fish or the human invades the shark's space, according to a report by the Florida Museum.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
Noun
Advertisement There was also a growing feeling that a few more mistakes in Sweida and in coastal Latakia, where Syrian forces massacred Alawites in early March, and the world could turn against the new President.
—Hassan Hassan, Time, 11 Oct. 2025
Cable operators such as Charter and its biggest peer in the sector, Comcast, are working to fix the customer service mistakes of the past in order to sell themselves as the best value option for consumers.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
While minor, the error has drawn public commentary given that Halligan has previously been criticized for similar documentation mistakes in other high-profile cases.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
The Chiefs can live with some mistakes.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2025
These mistakes are not only costly on a game-by-game basis because their suspension ramifications, particularly in a Chelsea squad already carrying several defensive injuries, are key.
—Simon Johnson, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
However, from time to time mistakes will be made and we will not be held liable.
—Jacob Camenker, USA Today, 5 Oct. 2025
From a potentially serious injury sustained by linebacker Dwight Nunoo to a multitude of mistakes, Saturday’s 51-10 loss to the host Connecticut Huskies (4-2) was devastating to FIU (2-3).
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
Unable to admit to its mistakes or spin the narrative, the state deploys silence as a last resort.
—Yangyang Cheng, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025
Verb
The film looks like a million bucks, has a high pedigree of talent, and mistakes constant poking for conversation, endless buzzwords for a buffet of food for thought, incendiary hypotheticals for insight.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
When the user clicks that link, the browser mistakes the malicious prompt for an instruction from the user—and begins carrying it out.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
The extensive embellishment of a score by Bobby Krlic (the English musician who records as the Haxan Cloak), drenched in moody synths and guitar, fits the tone but also adds to the nagging sense that the younger Day-Lewis’ storytelling too often mistakes padding for atmosphere.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
Younger Recently divorced and adjusting to life as an empty nester, fortysomething Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) gains a boost of confidence once a 26-year-old tattoo artist mistakes her for someone his age.
—Hannah Kerns, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
The scene in which Junshik mistakes his family members for lucky strangers would work beautifully in a movie.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2025
Augustus Stonehurst & the Avian Wednesday sends Thing to Willow Hill to look for Stonehurst after Fester mistakes the lunch lady for Lois.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
The boss sees one polished performance and mistakes it for collective strength.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Most shark bites occur because a shark mistakes the human for a fish or the human invades the shark's space, according to a report by the Florida Museum.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mistakes
Noun
-
Against Brent Venables’ otherwise elite defense, Arch Manning had a nicely tidy day, completing 21 of 27 passes with no major blunders and 200 total yards.—
Sam Settleman,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
-
The View has a storied history with fashion blunders.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In that same period, Chelsea have made more errors leading to shots in the Premier League than any other side.—
Simon Johnson,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Automation bias can lead to critical errors of commission (acting on flawed advice) and omission (failing to act when a system misses something), particularly in high-stakes environments.—
Nelson Lim,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But to argue that any of this research adds up to a substantial account of intelligence misunderstands the nature of such human traits and what can be expected from scientific explanations of them.—
Eric Turkheimer,
The Atlantic,
13 Oct. 2025
-
In an amicus brief filed to the Supreme Court, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association and 12 other professional bodies argued that characterizing talk therapy as mere speech fundamentally misunderstands its therapeutic use and purpose.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In truth, each side underestimates the relevance of the other’s perspective.—
Tim Brinkhof,
JSTOR Daily,
8 Oct. 2025
-
But that underestimates both the level of competition then — being a contemporary of the Big Three is not ideal in that regard — and how few players make the jump from junior prodigy to serial winner.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Typically caused by a sensitive immune system — which confuses innocuous bacteria for harmful pathogens — symptoms include fever, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite and weight loss, anemia, skin changes, arthritis and more.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The disinformation pushed by these types of influencers confuses audiences, leaves them less informed, and erodes trust in actual journalism.—
Taylor Lorenz,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said forecasts of an imminent slowdown have been repeatedly wrong, and the economics profession should start grappling with its track record of misjudgments.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
When large and small crowds in large and small towns gather respectfully, even exuberantly, to register their response to the country’s direction, measuring newsworthiness by body count or damage tallies misses the critical story.—
Nancy Gibbs,
Time,
17 Oct. 2025
-
That is the Sitake way, the head coach who never misses an opportunity to dance on the field after wins or sing along with his players in the meeting room.—
Christopher Kamrani,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Home designer Allisa Jacobs wrote in a blog post that AI routinely misjudges the proportions and sizes of rooms and furniture, suggesting pieces that wouldn’t realistically fit in the space.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
1 Oct. 2025
-
But the Fed just kind of misjudges what's going on and pushes too hard on interest rates and pushes the economy in.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mistakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mistakes. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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