1
as in blunders
a wrong judgment
they made a mistake when they thought the young pitcher was ready to be called up to the major leagues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in errors
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
made a mistake on the exam that almost cost her a passing grade
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in misunderstands
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 underestimates
to make an incorrect judgment regarding
you seriously mistake me if you think I scare so easily
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in confuses
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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show current usage.
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Recent Examples of mistakes
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Assisting guests to create memorable experiences through the years means Ali has also seen his fair share of requests that shed light on some of the biggest travel mistakes.
—Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025
Read on for the candid confessions and cautionary tales that might save you from making the same mistakes.
—Lauren Bengtson, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Oct. 2025
Even small mistakes can give attackers access to your accounts.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2025
However, from time to time mistakes will be made and we will not be held liable.
—Dian Zhang, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Sophie’s Choice meets Cape Fear meets Greek mythology in this disturbing yuppies-in-peril thriller about a wealthy, respected doctor (Colin Farrell, reuniting with Lanthimos immediately after The Lobster) whose mistakes in the operating theater come back to haunt him.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Great coaches such as John Wooden, Phil Jackson, Nick Saban and Pete Carroll integrated a variety of mental health techniques to help players reduce stress and mistakes while increasing focus, confidence and flow.
—Elan Gepner-Dales, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
Marty’s child had attempted to answer each of the four questions but had had the assignment returned with their mistakes circled by the teacher.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
The film looks like a million bucks, has a high pedigree of talent, and mistakes constant poking for conversation, endless buzzwords for a buffet of food for thought, incendiary hypotheticals for insight.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
When the user clicks that link, the browser mistakes the malicious prompt for an instruction from the user—and begins carrying it out.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
The extensive embellishment of a score by Bobby Krlic (the English musician who records as the Haxan Cloak), drenched in moody synths and guitar, fits the tone but also adds to the nagging sense that the younger Day-Lewis’ storytelling too often mistakes padding for atmosphere.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
Younger Recently divorced and adjusting to life as an empty nester, fortysomething Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) gains a boost of confidence once a 26-year-old tattoo artist mistakes her for someone his age.
—Hannah Kerns, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
The scene in which Junshik mistakes his family members for lucky strangers would work beautifully in a movie.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2025
Augustus Stonehurst & the Avian Wednesday sends Thing to Willow Hill to look for Stonehurst after Fester mistakes the lunch lady for Lois.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
The boss sees one polished performance and mistakes it for collective strength.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Noun
The hitters can extend at-bats or, in the case of Guerrero and veteran George Springer, detonate mistakes.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Assisting guests to create memorable experiences through the years means Ali has also seen his fair share of requests that shed light on some of the biggest travel mistakes.
—Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025
Read on for the candid confessions and cautionary tales that might save you from making the same mistakes.
—Lauren Bengtson, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Oct. 2025
Even small mistakes can give attackers access to your accounts.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2025
However, from time to time mistakes will be made and we will not be held liable.
—Dian Zhang, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Sophie’s Choice meets Cape Fear meets Greek mythology in this disturbing yuppies-in-peril thriller about a wealthy, respected doctor (Colin Farrell, reuniting with Lanthimos immediately after The Lobster) whose mistakes in the operating theater come back to haunt him.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Great coaches such as John Wooden, Phil Jackson, Nick Saban and Pete Carroll integrated a variety of mental health techniques to help players reduce stress and mistakes while increasing focus, confidence and flow.
—Elan Gepner-Dales, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
Marty’s child had attempted to answer each of the four questions but had had the assignment returned with their mistakes circled by the teacher.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
My father mistakes it for the verb to bray, like a donkey.
—Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
The film looks like a million bucks, has a high pedigree of talent, and mistakes constant poking for conversation, endless buzzwords for a buffet of food for thought, incendiary hypotheticals for insight.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
When the user clicks that link, the browser mistakes the malicious prompt for an instruction from the user—and begins carrying it out.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
The extensive embellishment of a score by Bobby Krlic (the English musician who records as the Haxan Cloak), drenched in moody synths and guitar, fits the tone but also adds to the nagging sense that the younger Day-Lewis’ storytelling too often mistakes padding for atmosphere.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
Younger Recently divorced and adjusting to life as an empty nester, fortysomething Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) gains a boost of confidence once a 26-year-old tattoo artist mistakes her for someone his age.
—Hannah Kerns, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
The scene in which Junshik mistakes his family members for lucky strangers would work beautifully in a movie.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2025
Augustus Stonehurst & the Avian Wednesday sends Thing to Willow Hill to look for Stonehurst after Fester mistakes the lunch lady for Lois.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
The boss sees one polished performance and mistakes it for collective strength.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mistakes
Noun
-
The post 9/11 blunders in which Cheney played a part can be tied to the rise of ISIS, perennial instability in the Middle East, the migrant crisis and the crushing debt burden ($38 trillion and counting) that looms over the US economy.—
Ben Wedeman,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Potential adversaries interpret political action in zero-sum terms; see malice and evil design in mere blunders and coincidence; trumpet necessity rather than navigate choice; and, in extreme cases, invent pretext or promise profit to make more palatable a dubious cause.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Though Boston dealt with defensive issues, leading the league with 116 errors, the team clearly has a bright future.—
Shaun McAvoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The Wolverines then made three consecutive hitting errors, essentially putting the set out of reach.—
Lou Ponsi,
Oc Register,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But to argue that any of this research adds up to a substantial account of intelligence misunderstands the nature of such human traits and what can be expected from scientific explanations of them.—
Eric Turkheimer,
The Atlantic,
13 Oct. 2025
-
In an amicus brief filed to the Supreme Court, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association and 12 other professional bodies argued that characterizing talk therapy as mere speech fundamentally misunderstands its therapeutic use and purpose.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In truth, each side underestimates the relevance of the other’s perspective.—
Tim Brinkhof,
JSTOR Daily,
8 Oct. 2025
-
But that underestimates both the level of competition then — being a contemporary of the Big Three is not ideal in that regard — and how few players make the jump from junior prodigy to serial winner.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Longhorns’ roster build confuses me.—
The Athletic College Basketball Staff,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
-
At her spring show, Marie-Adam Leenaerdt brought back the style, but her shiny spandex stocking version ensures no one confuses the look for child’s play.—
Laia Garcia-Furtado,
Vogue,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said forecasts of an imminent slowdown have been repeatedly wrong, and the economics profession should start grappling with its track record of misjudgments.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Kayshon Boutte is day-to-day with a hamstring injury, which means New England could push Stefon Diggs outside if Boutte misses any time, allowing Douglas to get more run out of the slot against the Buccaneers this week.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Saito always misses his cats while hiking.—
Kelly Meyerhofer,
jsonline.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Home designer Allisa Jacobs wrote in a blog post that AI routinely misjudges the proportions and sizes of rooms and furniture, suggesting pieces that wouldn’t realistically fit in the space.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
1 Oct. 2025
-
But the Fed just kind of misjudges what's going on and pushes too hard on interest rates and pushes the economy in.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mistakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mistakes. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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