as in delusion
a false idea or belief
the common misbelief that the Great Wall of China is visible from the moon
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Recent Examples of misbelief
Age Does Not Equate to a Rheumatic Disease Diagnosis
While a lot of rheumatic conditions are related to age, there is another misbelief that these conditions mostly affect older people and, as a result, are a product of getting older.
—
Chloe Castleberry, Flow Space, 7 July 2025
Her Daddy discourse is the misbelief that Harris (or any woman running for office) inherently has women’s votes in the bag and, thus, that candidate should spend their time on voters who are more on the fence.
—Brea Baker, refinery29.com, 9 Oct. 2024
Combating misbelief is much more complicated—and politically and ethically fraught—than reducing the spread of explicitly false content.
—Jennifer Allen, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2024
Other misbeliefs and myths circulate: Some families believe that if a mother eats eggs during pregnancy that can bring on autism, and that boys typically miss developmental milestones so there shouldn't be a need to consult a physician in such cases.
—Scovian Lillian, NPR, 26 Feb. 2024
Wolter says the project has started to engage with human populations near vulture colonies, roosting sites and popular foraging areas, to educate communities on the benefits of the animal to local ecology, and dispel popular misbeliefs.
—Gertrude Kitongo, CNN, 22 Feb. 2024
One common misbelief heard when legislation is discussed is that gender-affirming medical interventions are provided immediately to any trans or nonbinary kid who walks into a gender clinic.
—Helen Santoro, CBS News, 27 June 2023
Chloe Castleberry, Flow Space, 7 July 2025
Her Daddy discourse is the misbelief that Harris (or any woman running for office) inherently has women’s votes in the bag and, thus, that candidate should spend their time on voters who are more on the fence.
—Brea Baker, refinery29.com, 9 Oct. 2024
Combating misbelief is much more complicated—and politically and ethically fraught—than reducing the spread of explicitly false content.
—Jennifer Allen, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2024
Other misbeliefs and myths circulate: Some families believe that if a mother eats eggs during pregnancy that can bring on autism, and that boys typically miss developmental milestones so there shouldn't be a need to consult a physician in such cases.
—Scovian Lillian, NPR, 26 Feb. 2024
Wolter says the project has started to engage with human populations near vulture colonies, roosting sites and popular foraging areas, to educate communities on the benefits of the animal to local ecology, and dispel popular misbeliefs.
—Gertrude Kitongo, CNN, 22 Feb. 2024
One common misbelief heard when legislation is discussed is that gender-affirming medical interventions are provided immediately to any trans or nonbinary kid who walks into a gender clinic.
—Helen Santoro, CBS News, 27 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misbelief
Noun
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Or are all the happenings just a delusion?—
Jordan Minor,
PC Magazine,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Leigh used every moment, every expression, to tell Blanche's story and to illustrate her torment, her delusion, and her desire for affection.—
Darren Franich,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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While the findings aren’t a condemnation of any one specific crossbreed, the study’s authors hope the new information will help dispel ongoing myths about designer dogs.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
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Some are demanding change And just like that, the Cesar Chavez myth is punctured.—
James Rainey,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Republicans have a tiny majority in the House, but a larger margin for error in the Senate, except for the filibuster.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Simply put, if a human operator senses something is going wrong, the robot should react before the error escalates.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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More surprisingly, the checklist of stunts does lend itself to the film-with-in-the-film’s ever-unfolding, ad hoc script, with the boys wearing a very funny cut-out of Darby’s face to give the illusion of a leading man holding it all together.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
18 Mar. 2026
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Even the most die-hard anti-American cleric in the Iranian political system did not harbor illusions that Iran could defeat the United States in conventional ways.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Another common misconception involves the meaning of remission.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
13 Mar. 2026
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The biggest misconception is that the commission at issue was created, imposed or newly introduced by the Tax Collector’s Office.—
Abbey Ajayi,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misbelief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbelief. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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