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
The company’s current owners maintain its work has been misconstrued and that the charges against its former executives were unjustified.
—
ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
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
Every time a Spurs coach or player said something nice about Austin, it got misconstrued as a veiled shot at San Antonio.
—Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 19 Feb. 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
ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
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
Every time a Spurs coach or player said something nice about Austin, it got misconstrued as a veiled shot at San Antonio.
—Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 19 Feb. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misconstrued
Verb
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In response to questions about the Mizuho analyst’s conclusions, Muddy Waters founder Carson Block told Fortune by email that the analyst had misunderstood its findings.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
25 Mar. 2026
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The crowd’s reaction, like so much collective behavior in Japan, could easily be misunderstood by outsiders.—
Joshua Hunt,
Harpers Magazine,
24 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
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Even experienced players can misread a pitch by inches, which makes deciding whether to challenge even more difficult.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Johnston thinks the administration badly misread the situation from the start.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misconstrued.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misconstrued. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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