as in to misunderstand
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of
unfortunately, the message that the artist was trying to convey has been misapprehended by many museum patrons
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Recent Examples of misapprehend
But would her students, turned on everywhere by the dogma of political correctness, misapprehend Haynes’s aim?
—
Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 June 2023
Some people misapprehend it and think of as imitation.
—New York Times, 17 Nov. 2021
But to call him a ‘man of the Right’ is to misapprehend his own words and actions.
—John Hirschauer, National Review, 25 Feb. 2020
Traditionally, that's led to things like snakes on stage and misapprehended awards speeches.
—Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, 20 Aug. 2018
This isn’t just shooting your mouth off on the stump—this is the nation’s top lawyer completely misapprehending what judges do and what states are.
—Dahlia Lithwick, Slate Magazine, 20 Apr. 2017
Yet by the same logic, giving Washington and Jefferson a pass for being slaveholders misapprehends a moral problem embedded in our nation at its conception.
—Ron Grossman, chicagotribune.com, 25 Aug. 2017
This is a silly parlor game that misapprehends James’s gifts, which have never been those of a pure scorer.
—Michael Powell, New York Times, 10 June 2017
Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 June 2023
Some people misapprehend it and think of as imitation.
—New York Times, 17 Nov. 2021
But to call him a ‘man of the Right’ is to misapprehend his own words and actions.
—John Hirschauer, National Review, 25 Feb. 2020
Traditionally, that's led to things like snakes on stage and misapprehended awards speeches.
—Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, 20 Aug. 2018
This isn’t just shooting your mouth off on the stump—this is the nation’s top lawyer completely misapprehending what judges do and what states are.
—Dahlia Lithwick, Slate Magazine, 20 Apr. 2017
Yet by the same logic, giving Washington and Jefferson a pass for being slaveholders misapprehends a moral problem embedded in our nation at its conception.
—Ron Grossman, chicagotribune.com, 25 Aug. 2017
This is a silly parlor game that misapprehends James’s gifts, which have never been those of a pure scorer.
—Michael Powell, New York Times, 10 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misapprehend
misunderstand
Verb
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But to define Alex Martins by the Magic’s win-loss record is to fundamentally misunderstand the impact he’s had — not just on a franchise, but on a city.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 June 2025
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The straightforward, seemingly trivial moment—a dog misunderstanding the basic principles of light and shadow—turned into a comically relatable spectacle.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misapprehend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misapprehend. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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