as in incorrect
having an opinion that does not agree with truth or the facts
meat loaf is on the cafeteria's menu today, if I'm not mistaken
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in misunderstood
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of
the auctioneer mistook my nod for a bid, and I ended up buying a painting I don't even like
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in underestimated
to make an incorrect judgment regarding
you seriously mistake me if you think I scare so easily
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in confused
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
she mistook physical attraction for love
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mistaken
Outside Online, 7 Jan. 2026
He will not be mistaken for Hakeem Olajuwon anytime soon.
—Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
But that judicial ruling, Mason said, should not be mistaken for legality.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 7 Jan. 2026
And one great non-wig The best wigs of the year were the ones that were obviously wigs, and the best hair of the year was the hair that was mistaken for a wig.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 1 Jan. 2026
Swap meets—flea markets where venders hawk everything from secondhand clothing and kitchenware to fresh produce and cleaning products—could be mistaken for the mercados in the central plazas of Tepic or Hermosillo.
—Jordan Salama, New Yorker, 30 Dec. 2025
But the court determined Contreras’s complaint was based on his objectively reasonable, though mistaken, complaint about Green Thumb’s violation of an actual law, the EPA.
—Dan Eaton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Dec. 2025
Yet calibration should not be mistaken for weakness.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Documents further indicated that Smith worked with Moore to kill a rival, but instead, they are accused of murdering Holden out of mistaken identity.
—Shardaa Gray, CBS News, 15 Dec. 2025
Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
The new generation’s way of describing someone’s charm or flirting capability, rizz has often been mistaken as short for charisma, which Cenat firmly indicated was not his intention.
—Yasmeen Hamadeh, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025
Still, the environment would not have been mistaken for a nightclub.
—Zach Berman, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
Smiley and Perez came under national scrutiny in the days after the shooting because their investigation included the detention of an innocent man who was mistaken as the suspect and questionable transparency with the public throughout the manhunt.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 20 Dec. 2025
At first blush, the event space inside Fanatics‘ New York headquarters could have been mistaken for a typical business school class last Wednesday, as a lecturer at the front of the room connected Christopher Booker’s seven basic plots to social media marketing.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 15 Dec. 2025
While the male vermilion flycatcher is unmistakable with its bright red color and distinctive black eye mask and wings, the female is much less colorful and can often be mistaken for a Say’s phoebe, with a brownish head, back and wings, a white throat and upper breast, with a reddish belly.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Dec. 2025
Eiglarsh said at a previous hearing that the affidavit is mistaken, and that Brown actually used his personal firearm, and the shots were not aimed at anyone.
—CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
But Pym, whose novels about conventional behavior shouldn’t be mistaken for conventional themselves, wrote about gay or bisexual male characters in almost all her books.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
Adjective
Whilst scalping tickets to watch Dorothy Hamill skate for Gold, he and his Olympic-level mustache were mistaken for Marc Spitz, the torpedo in a speedo who swam to seven Golds in ‘72.
—Outside Online, 7 Jan. 2026
He will not be mistaken for Hakeem Olajuwon anytime soon.
—Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
But that judicial ruling, Mason said, should not be mistaken for legality.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 7 Jan. 2026
And one great non-wig The best wigs of the year were the ones that were obviously wigs, and the best hair of the year was the hair that was mistaken for a wig.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 1 Jan. 2026
Swap meets—flea markets where venders hawk everything from secondhand clothing and kitchenware to fresh produce and cleaning products—could be mistaken for the mercados in the central plazas of Tepic or Hermosillo.
—Jordan Salama, New Yorker, 30 Dec. 2025
But the court determined Contreras’s complaint was based on his objectively reasonable, though mistaken, complaint about Green Thumb’s violation of an actual law, the EPA.
—Dan Eaton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Dec. 2025
Yet calibration should not be mistaken for weakness.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Documents further indicated that Smith worked with Moore to kill a rival, but instead, they are accused of murdering Holden out of mistaken identity.
—Shardaa Gray, CBS News, 15 Dec. 2025
Verb
At first glance, Cloud-9 might have been mistaken for a faint dwarf galaxy, or a small galaxy composed of about 1,000 up to several billion stars, the research team said.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
The new generation’s way of describing someone’s charm or flirting capability, rizz has often been mistaken as short for charisma, which Cenat firmly indicated was not his intention.
—Yasmeen Hamadeh, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025
Still, the environment would not have been mistaken for a nightclub.
—Zach Berman, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
Smiley and Perez came under national scrutiny in the days after the shooting because their investigation included the detention of an innocent man who was mistaken as the suspect and questionable transparency with the public throughout the manhunt.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 20 Dec. 2025
At first blush, the event space inside Fanatics‘ New York headquarters could have been mistaken for a typical business school class last Wednesday, as a lecturer at the front of the room connected Christopher Booker’s seven basic plots to social media marketing.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 15 Dec. 2025
While the male vermilion flycatcher is unmistakable with its bright red color and distinctive black eye mask and wings, the female is much less colorful and can often be mistaken for a Say’s phoebe, with a brownish head, back and wings, a white throat and upper breast, with a reddish belly.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Dec. 2025
Eiglarsh said at a previous hearing that the affidavit is mistaken, and that Brown actually used his personal firearm, and the shots were not aimed at anyone.
—CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
But Pym, whose novels about conventional behavior shouldn’t be mistaken for conventional themselves, wrote about gay or bisexual male characters in almost all her books.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mistaken
Adjective
-
Duplicate collections, wrong dates, incorrect creditor names or accounts listed as unpaid when they were settled are all valid reasons to file a dispute.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The problem of incorrect citations and false legal statements, which attorneys suspect were written by AI tools, appears to be growing, said Felix De La Torre, general counsel for PERB.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
So both sides have misunderstood his constituency.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Many patients are surprised to learn that watery eyes can actually be a sign of dryness, a common but frequently misunderstood symptom.—
Team Verywell Health,
Verywell Health,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Being underestimated became part of the education.—
Parin Moradiya,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The next time new science reveals that a chemical is much more toxic, or that the amount of pollution released from a factory had been underestimated and would cause legally unacceptable health risks, the agency would not be able to react.—
Lisa Song,
ProPublica,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Sassounian, for his part, doesn’t think there’s any risk the two California Couriers would ever be confused with each other.—
Colin Lecher,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Many of the event’s attendees were confused about — or ignorant of — what had occurred on the other side of the court house.—
Laura Tillman,
Hartford Courant,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The candidacy challenge contends that Wilcox used the wrong form to file for office in December and left off information that was required.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Jan. 2026
-
An Amazon driver accompanied by her 16-year-old son came under fire after accidentally stopping at the wrong house in rural North Carolina, according to investigators.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Four players didn’t travel with the team to New Orleans, including Christian Braun, who missed his second consecutive game.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Last week, Sports Business Journal reported Main Street Sports Group — which carries the games of 29 NBA, MLB and NHL teams under the name FanDuel Sports Network — missed its January payments to numerous undisclosed NBA teams.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Obviously her life is very different from Claire, but did Kate Hudson relate to feeling undervalued or misjudged?—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Haaland missed two chances in the first half, while Foden misjudged two big openings late on, failing to execute a simple low ball across to Haaland and then opting for a difficult through ball to the Norwegian rather than spotting the free man Cherki on his right.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mistaken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mistaken. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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