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misunderstand

verb

(ˌ)mi-ˌsən-dər-ˈstand How to pronounce misunderstand (audio)
Definition of misunderstandnext
as in to miss
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of you misunderstood that poem because you took everything so literally

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 misunderstand Maybe an important meeting is rescheduled at the worst possible time, or perhaps someone misunderstands the context of your conversation. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 2026 Hopefully Hollywood won’t misunderstand the lesson in those projects’ success. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026 Cuban argued that the proposal misunderstands how startup wealth works. — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026 Responding Monday to Emmanuel Acho, who criticized the idea that her ejection represented white privilege, Carrington insisted people were misunderstanding her. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for misunderstand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misunderstand
  1. miss
  2. mistake
  3. misread
  4. misconstrue
  5. misinterpret
  6. misapprehend
Verb
  • Upon returning to his home, the man claimed that two watches, including a $37,000 Rolex, were missing from his bedside table.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Florjancic narrowly missed an uphill 10-footer for par after a nice chip, and McConnell converted yet another clutch two-putt for the win.
    — Harris Horowitz, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of miss
Verb
  • Locals who saw the creature in the Bolivian Andes had mistaken it for an ordinary house cat, said biologist and National Geographic explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, who was part of the research team that studied them.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026
  • These lacy white flowers look deceptively similar—but mistaking one for the other can have severe consequences.
    — SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of mistake
Verb
  • What officials misread back then was the source of that inflation.
    — Kelly Evans, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Digital communication removes tone, context and immediate feedback, making silence easy to misread as agreement.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of misread
Verb
  • 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
  • Talwani said that argument misconstrued the Supreme Court’s decision.
    — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of misconstrue
Verb
  • Asynchronous communication can easily be misinterpreted, allowing for not only confusion but often confrontation.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • But in my experience, if used on its own to diagnose, it can be easily misinterpreted.
    — Andrew McLean, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of misinterpret
Verb
  • That is true of leaders anywhere, but Israel’s history has predisposed some of its policymakers to focus excessively on day-to-day survival and to misapprehend or ignore strategic dynamics as a result.
    — Andrew P. Miller, Foreign Affairs, 5 Dec. 2025
  • 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

mistyping
misunderstand
misunderstanding
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Cite this Entry

“Misunderstand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misunderstand. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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