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
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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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Recent Examples of mistakes
Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
But just those little mistakes cost us the second goal.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
Learning from her children’s failures Wojcicki points to her children’s experiences for inspiration about how to navigate failure, especially when making big mistakes in the public eye.
—Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
The push for funding comes amid a number of high-profile incidents involving apparent air traffic control mistakes, including a deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport in New York City last month.
—Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
Pollen counts peak in the early morning, so going outside before noon on high-pollen days is one of the most common mistakes sufferers make.
—Allison Palmer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
Defensively, Lindor keeps making uncharacteristic mental mistakes, and the Mets don’t seem to have an answer for those either.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2026
Children are allowed to make mistakes.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Ahead, Littley shares the most common mistakes people make when cooking pasta and how to avoid them.
—Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 16 Apr. 2026
Doug Haller, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
In a category that often mistakes complexity and aggression for innovation, this kind of approach is surprisingly rare.
—New Atlas, 19 Apr. 2026
Seasonal allergies happen when the immune system mistakes something harmless in the environment, such as pollen, as a danger, setting off reactions and symptoms that can turn spring from a gift into an ordeal.
—Matt Fuchs, Scientific American, 15 Apr. 2026
In another scene, Peet’s character is asked for an autograph by a young woman who mistakes her for the actor Lake Bell.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Chicken allergies occur when the body's immune system mistakes chicken as a harmful invader, triggering an allergic reaction.
—Lindsey Desoto, Health, 1 Apr. 2026
The market focuses on the median dot and often mistakes it for a plan, even though they are derived from 19 separate forecasts and not curated into a policy forecast by the committee.
—Steve Liesman,matt Peterson, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026
But for every moment of genuine accountability journalism that reminds the public what the press is capable of, there seems to follow another viral post, another sympathetic profile of a terrorist’s grieving relatives, another story that mistakes activism for reporting.
—Julian Baron, Baltimore Sun, 18 Mar. 2026
But that mistakes the symptom for the cause.
—Paul Polman, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2026
Noun
In an email obtained by the Mercury News, Kinnear-Rausch offered clues as to the mistakes that led to Jaxon’s April 9 death.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
But just those little mistakes cost us the second goal.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
Learning from her children’s failures Wojcicki points to her children’s experiences for inspiration about how to navigate failure, especially when making big mistakes in the public eye.
—Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
The push for funding comes amid a number of high-profile incidents involving apparent air traffic control mistakes, including a deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport in New York City last month.
—Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
Pollen counts peak in the early morning, so going outside before noon on high-pollen days is one of the most common mistakes sufferers make.
—Allison Palmer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
Defensively, Lindor keeps making uncharacteristic mental mistakes, and the Mets don’t seem to have an answer for those either.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2026
Children are allowed to make mistakes.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Ahead, Littley shares the most common mistakes people make when cooking pasta and how to avoid them.
—Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
The Suns didn’t help themselves with 19 turnovers, mistakes Oklahoma City turned into 34 points.
—Doug Haller, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
In a category that often mistakes complexity and aggression for innovation, this kind of approach is surprisingly rare.
—New Atlas, 19 Apr. 2026
Seasonal allergies happen when the immune system mistakes something harmless in the environment, such as pollen, as a danger, setting off reactions and symptoms that can turn spring from a gift into an ordeal.
—Matt Fuchs, Scientific American, 15 Apr. 2026
In another scene, Peet’s character is asked for an autograph by a young woman who mistakes her for the actor Lake Bell.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Chicken allergies occur when the body's immune system mistakes chicken as a harmful invader, triggering an allergic reaction.
—Lindsey Desoto, Health, 1 Apr. 2026
The market focuses on the median dot and often mistakes it for a plan, even though they are derived from 19 separate forecasts and not curated into a policy forecast by the committee.
—Steve Liesman,matt Peterson, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026
But for every moment of genuine accountability journalism that reminds the public what the press is capable of, there seems to follow another viral post, another sympathetic profile of a terrorist’s grieving relatives, another story that mistakes activism for reporting.
—Julian Baron, Baltimore Sun, 18 Mar. 2026
But that mistakes the symptom for the cause.
—Paul Polman, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mistakes
Noun
-
Many similar blunders have been recorded in years past, including arguably the worst example, a disastrous decision three decades ago to overhaul how electricity was produced, distributed and priced.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Several real estate blunders exacerbated the situation.—
Harvey Levine,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Hopefully his teammates and coaches realize the errors in their ways.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
-
In December, Chelsea’s players looked inexplicably unprepared for the intensity of this long-time rivalry and were caught out via defensive errors.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This latter position fundamentally misunderstands the PRC’s determination to absorb Taiwan; expressing weakness is more likely to invite a Chinese invasion.—
Michelle Kuo,
The Dial,
14 Apr. 2026
-
This fundamentally misunderstands physical infrastructure.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Telling the story this way elides, smooths over, and underestimates the role of circumstance and dumb luck.—
Charles Yu,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The problem is that this comparison often oversimplifies what Social Security actually is and underestimates how much risk and leverage already exist in today’s financial markets.—
Bruce Helmer,
Twin Cities,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The low-performing chefs are Rhoda, whose lamb confuses the kids; Sherry, whose grits were oddly flavored; and Oscar, whose puff pastry soaked up all the deep-fryer oil.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Learn about Outside Online's affiliate link policy Go somewhere that confuses your algorithm.—
Kevin Sintumuang,
Outside,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The use of video technology has increased the scrutiny, even though it was never sold as a panacea to the issue of refereeing misjudgments.—
Graham Scott,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Ullrich stresses the role of tactical mistakes and misjudgments, not least by the far left, which shortsightedly refused to compromise its beliefs and join with more moderate groups to oppose democratic backsliding.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The Indiana Pacers star never misses a chance to take a dig at the Knicks.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The cost of data collection is often framed in terms of hardware or labor, but this view misses the larger picture.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Apr. 2026
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 27 Apr. 2026.
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