1
as in mistake
a failure to understand correctly
people once thought that there were canals on Mars because of a common misunderstanding of a report by an Italian astronomer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dispute
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
tried to resolve their misunderstandings peacefully
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in missing
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of
you misunderstood that poem because you took everything so literally
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of misunderstanding
Clare Amari, New York Times, 27 May 2026
That misunderstanding comes up often, along with other avoidable mistakes, like waiting too long to prepare documents and then rushing the application.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 May 2026
Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
Instead, a formal review of the original data showed the warnings were based on misunderstanding the data.
—Kirstin R.w. Matthews, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misunderstanding
Noun
Certain there had been a misunderstanding, Anabelle showed up at the office of Sonia Davis, an assistant principal.
—Clare Amari, New York Times, 27 May 2026
That misunderstanding comes up often, along with other avoidable mistakes, like waiting too long to prepare documents and then rushing the application.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 May 2026
Verb
Another risk is misunderstanding the premiums tied to silver.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
Instead, a formal review of the original data showed the warnings were based on misunderstanding the data.
—Kirstin R.w. Matthews, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misunderstanding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misunderstanding
Noun
-
Wrobleski made even fewer mistakes.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
-
In many games, her assists and offensive prowess create positives that can arguably offset her mistakes.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
In 2023, Archer settled intellectual property disputes with Boeing and its air taxi unit Wisk, and signed an agreement to collaborate on autonomous tech, and invested in the air taxi maker.—
Samantha Subin,
CNBC,
29 May 2026
-
Carney acknowledged that while the US and Canada have had disputes, the countries have always worked through them, and that a more independent Canada makes the country a better ally.—
Reuters May 28,
CNN Money,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Bernice Courtemanche went missing 42 years ago as of Saturday.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
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Conducted in partnership with public opinion research firm PerryUndem, the research explored the gap between dominant cultural narratives about Black women and the stories Black women say are missing, distorted, or urgently needed.—
Dominique Fluker,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
After recording the transmission, Zaminsky takes the evidence to Phil Gordian (Ron Silver), his smarmy boss at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, where his remarkable findings are rejected as a misinterpretation and the smoking gun tape is eventually destroyed.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
31 May 2026
-
Although Turkish officials have stopped short of declaring the incidents deliberate attacks, each interception raises the risk of escalation, whether through miscalculation, technical failure, or misinterpretation of intent.—
Steve Mollman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The back-and-forth continued a pattern of both sides suggesting an agreement was near, before signaling disagreement over many of the same sticking points, including the fate of Iran’s uranium and nuclear ambitions as well as freedom of navigation of the critical waterway.—
Kate Sullivan,
Fortune,
30 May 2026
-
However, the plan has not been formally approved by the city of San Diego, largely because of disagreements over the right of way.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
The problem is mistaking a large platform — or a fluent AI — for a qualified one, and letting that mistake drive decisions that actually matter.—
Sarah Hernholm,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
No one’s mistaking this for My Left Foot.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
Relaxing the competitive policies toward China in favor of warmer leader-to-leader engagement reflects a fundamental misreading of Xi’s intentions.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
18 May 2026
-
Imposter syndrome is a misreading of a stable environment.—
Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks,
Fortune,
13 May 2026
Noun
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The Grammy winner’s Ring camera caught the altercation when her private security intervened and tried to get Applegate to leave.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
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The altercation allegedly led to a brief fight in which the granddaughter is accused of pulling on one of the kids' hair before being separated.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misunderstanding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misunderstanding. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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