as in to misunderstand
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Recent Examples of mishear
Older patients, especially, mishear instructions or are too overwhelmed by bad news to listen carefully.
—
David Owen, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
These assistants regularly misunderstand, mishear, and sometimes just don’t listen at all.
—Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 14 June 2024
She's confused: Did Adrian mishear something or is Brayden being manipulative?
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 4 July 2023
The people in her stories mishear and misunderstand one another, indulge in compulsive wordplay and defiant corniness.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
Now, don’t mishear me.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2022
Biden didn’t seem to mishear the question.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN, 19 Sep. 2022
Responding, Thompson defended the profession and appeared either to mishear the host or not know who Sean Bean was.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 11 Aug. 2022
On Twitter, the reporter who wrote the article said the mistake happened because the comment by Buttigieg happened with a noisy background, causing the reporter to mishear the recording while transcribing at a rally.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 11 Nov. 2019
David Owen, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
These assistants regularly misunderstand, mishear, and sometimes just don’t listen at all.
—Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 14 June 2024
She's confused: Did Adrian mishear something or is Brayden being manipulative?
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 4 July 2023
The people in her stories mishear and misunderstand one another, indulge in compulsive wordplay and defiant corniness.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
Now, don’t mishear me.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2022
Biden didn’t seem to mishear the question.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN, 19 Sep. 2022
Responding, Thompson defended the profession and appeared either to mishear the host or not know who Sean Bean was.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 11 Aug. 2022
On Twitter, the reporter who wrote the article said the mistake happened because the comment by Buttigieg happened with a noisy background, causing the reporter to mishear the recording while transcribing at a rally.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 11 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishear
Verb
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Is Big, Beautiful And Sad Northern Lights Alert For 17 States After ‘Double Eruption’ On Sun Time Blocking as a Leadership Act Time blocking, often misunderstood as a simple productivity hack, is in fact a form of proactive alignment.—
Nell Derick Debevoise,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
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Teachers commonly misunderstood his methods of self-regulation, such as stimming by flapping his hands, as a threat.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Reflect on instances where your words or behavior may have been misread.—
Benjamin Laker,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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But when Brooke emerges from Max’s bathroom, NP Avery misreads her post-surgery shower as post-coital.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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But many bishops said the distinction was too subtle, too easily misinterpreted, too prone to be exploited by the liberal forces at the Church’s gates.—
Austen Ivereigh,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
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Even after matching, users often get ghosted, misinterpret what the other person wants or have mismatched expectations, leaving those looking for love frustrated and burnt out.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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According to the researchers, these misperceptions may stop people from speaking up about their concerns and cause policymakers to misperceive how much their constituents care.—
Laura Schulte,
Journal Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2023
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Russian pilots could misperceive the escorts as offensive NATO warplanes and engage them, precipitating a disaster with unknown consequences.—
Rebeccah Heinrichs,
National Review,
24 Feb. 2022
Verb
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But would her students, turned on everywhere by the dogma of political correctness, misapprehend Haynes’s aim?—
Doreen St. Félix,
The New Yorker,
22 June 2023
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Some people misapprehend it and think of as imitation.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
17 Nov. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Mishear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishear. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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