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
-
Users who spend hours talking to the bot report being led to various delusions.—
Gili Malinsky,
CNBC,
6 Oct. 2025
-
For a second-year Housewife, she’s committed to the performance art of delusion.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The real loss, at the altar of a warped vision of masculinity, is courage and skill, sacrificed so that a few good men can go on measuring themselves against their own hollow myth of toughness.—
Arman Khan,
Them.,
3 Oct. 2025
-
And, in the process, the trio of ’70s babies punctured the myth that rap is a young man’s sport.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Vehicles included in this recall may have an error in the instrument panel software at startup, failing to show speed, brake system information, and tire pressure warning lights.—
Olivia Evans,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Yes, plenty of errors were made — six of them by shortstop Trevor Story in September alone — but errors are different from gaffes.—
Steve Buckley,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Inter basin transfers created the illusion of abundance.—
Nik Kowsar,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
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In the 21st century, the moral entrepreneurs include media personalities and social influencers as well as the nonhuman bots and algorithms whose authority is derived by constructing the illusion of broad consensus.—
Ron Barrett,
The Conversation,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
What’s crazy is that the whole thing was a misconception.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Oct. 2025
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That misconception must be eradicated from our society.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The champagne bottle used to christen the ship did not break on the first try, so there were superstitions around the ship from the beginning.—
Angelika Ytuarte,
jsonline.com,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Swift insisting the song is purely about superstitions.—
Bryan West,
Nashville Tennessean,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misbelief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbelief. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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