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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Antipsychotic medications can reduce hallucinations and delusions, while therapies and rehabilitations can address specific concerns, like teaching cognitive techniques or enhancing social skills to interact with others.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
-
It is associated with hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impair daily functioning and can be disabling.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Foundation Rock also highlights her relationship with other protective deities, consistently linking her power to myths and the spiritual undertone of water.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Oct. 2025
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Pitting vengeful ghosts against a backdrop of a supernatural love story, the film charmingly plays with genre to question how history and myth can probe collective and socio-political grief.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For Baltimore, the margin for error is gone.—
Andy Scholes,
CNN Money,
23 Oct. 2025
-
The Wolverines then made three consecutive hitting errors, essentially putting the set out of reach.—
Lou Ponsi,
Oc Register,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The video gives the illusion that the plane is cutting straight through the colorful arcs.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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That illusion was shattered Thursday when gambling and sports rigging schemes linked to the mob led to the arrests of 31 defendants, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, Damon Jones.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Read on to find out what contestants from across the country believe to be some of the greatest misconceptions about pageantry.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
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Many CEOs could have been overwhelmed by the daunting challenge of simultaneously mastering media misconceptions on multiple fronts.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Trojans may have shattered that superstition, improving to 7-5 all-time against the blue-blood Wolverines.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
12 Oct. 2025
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Swift also admitted on a recent SiriusXM Hits 1 interview that her mom, Andrea, thinks (or, honestly, prefers to believe) the song is just about superstitions and making your own luck.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misbelief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misbelief. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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