MISHEAR Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

mishear

verb

Definition of mishear

as in to misunderstand

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mishear Smart speakers have an annoying tendency to mishear, so the Google Home Speaker could be less frustrating in that way. — ArsTechnica, 17 June 2026 Host Matthew Deane called out each successful contestant by their title; however, Miss Panama Isamar Herrera appeared to mishear her own country being called over the speaker. — Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025 Gemini occasionally mishears commands or fails without a strong LTE or phone connection. — Brent Rose, Outside, 10 Oct. 2025 Likewise, transcription accuracy during post-call scenarios remains a critical bottleneck, especially when AI mishears essential details like customer names, street addresses or job descriptions. — Somil Gupta, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishear

Verb

My next question was going to be what do people who haven’t been on a college campus in a while tend to misunderstand about the party scene, and that pandemic shift seems like an answer to that.

— Rachel Cohen Booth, Vox, 23 Oct. 2026
If there was any worry that Sühlmann would misunderstand the brand, it was dispelled the moment the Mission S was unveiled.

— Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of misunderstand

Verb

Opposition contacts Rivera and his lawyers relied heavily on his contacts with Maduro opponents to argue that the government had misconstrued his work.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
For advocates, the law speaks to the horrific circumstances families can endure when a medical issue is misconstrued as abuse.

— Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of misconstrue

Verb

Officials said the department has reported no instances of misuse under its current auditing practices, although 71% of camera alerts involved misread license plates.

— Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Hope springs eternal though when Ali G misreads a message from an Elvis impersonator named Rocky (Clive Russell) who needs to talk to him ASAP.

— Pete Hammond, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of misread

Verb

Ask what evidence would strengthen an argument, which perspectives might be missing and how the message could be misinterpreted.

— John McCartney, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
When a misdiagnosis happens, the root cause is typically that abnormalities on brain scans were misinterpreted, Brumel said.

— Kerry Breen, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of misinterpret

Verb

Understanding the very normal psychological factors that lead people to misperceive what others are actually thinking and feeling – and learning specific strategies for intervening – can make a real difference.

— Catherine A. Sanderson, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026
Perception of risks diminishes, perhaps not entirely, but enough to misperceive the balance of challenge versus ability.

— Christopher Ferguson, Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026

Definition of misperceive

Verb

Obituaries for nuclear weapons simply misapprehend the role these arms have played since 1945.

— Eric S. Edelman, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of misapprehend

Browse Nearby Words

mishaps

mishear

misheard

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Mishear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishear. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of mishear

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

milieu

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes