as in misunderstood
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of
claimed that the press had misconstrued her comments
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Recent Examples of misconstrued
According to The Hollywood Reporter, stars including Tom Brady, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Costner, Alix Earle, Orlando Bloom, and Mark Wahlberg attended the starry celebration—and per sources, Alba and Burrow’s interaction may have been misconstrued.
—
Lara Walsh, InStyle, 9 Mar. 2026
Showing leadership is a good way to build alliances, but if misconstrued for over-confidence, the whole group could turn on you.
—Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2026
This can also help public audiences more easily identify when science is being misconstrued and misinterpreted.
—Kirstin R.w. Matthews, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
Attorney John Dillon, who represents Knife Rights and the other plaintiffs, argued that Friday’s ruling misconstrued the law.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Unfortunately, this misconstrued species name stuck.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 17 Jan. 2026
That reminds me a lot of the ways footage or stories around trans people and their actions in the world can be distorted and misconstrued and twisted in a different way to work against us.
—Joe Lynch, Billboard, 16 Jan. 2026
Some of the viral videos and social media posts have misconstrued publicly available information.
—David Ingram, NBC news, 4 Jan. 2026
Ryan Heiden, a labor attorney working with the city from Milwaukee firm von Briesen & Roper, advised the committee against putting any intentions in writing, warning that it could be misconstrued if in the years to come the two departments do indeed merge.
—Bridget Fogarty, jsonline.com, 19 Dec. 2025
Lara Walsh, InStyle, 9 Mar. 2026
Showing leadership is a good way to build alliances, but if misconstrued for over-confidence, the whole group could turn on you.
—Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2026
This can also help public audiences more easily identify when science is being misconstrued and misinterpreted.
—Kirstin R.w. Matthews, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
Attorney John Dillon, who represents Knife Rights and the other plaintiffs, argued that Friday’s ruling misconstrued the law.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Unfortunately, this misconstrued species name stuck.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 17 Jan. 2026
That reminds me a lot of the ways footage or stories around trans people and their actions in the world can be distorted and misconstrued and twisted in a different way to work against us.
—Joe Lynch, Billboard, 16 Jan. 2026
Some of the viral videos and social media posts have misconstrued publicly available information.
—David Ingram, NBC news, 4 Jan. 2026
Ryan Heiden, a labor attorney working with the city from Milwaukee firm von Briesen & Roper, advised the committee against putting any intentions in writing, warning that it could be misconstrued if in the years to come the two departments do indeed merge.
—Bridget Fogarty, jsonline.com, 19 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misconstrued
Verb
-
The crowd’s reaction, like so much collective behavior in Japan, could easily be misunderstood by outsiders.—
Joshua Hunt,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Democrats stand for upholding the Constitution and Rule of Law but have been misunderstood by the electorate.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Fall hopes the data will be useful for policymakers but also worries about them being misinterpreted.—
Lori Youmshajekian,
Scientific American,
11 Mar. 2026
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One reason is that your words could come across differently depending on the person reading the message, so stick to using short sentences to avoid being misinterpreted.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
As regulators weigh updates to the EU’s audiovisual rules amid concerns that existing regulations have failed to create a level playing field between broadcasters, streaming services and video-sharing platforms, Sarandos said policymakers are totally misreading the landscape’s shifting dynamics.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
17 Mar. 2026
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Such are the perils of polling in which thin samples, shaky turnout guesses and voters who increasingly refuse to answer surveys can produce numbers that look precise but badly misread the electorate.—
Karen Brooks Harper
Austin Bureau,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misconstrued.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misconstrued. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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