misunderstandings

noun

plural of misunderstanding
1
as in misinterpretations
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disagreements
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions tried to resolve their misunderstandings peacefully

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 misunderstandings Americans are in a perpetual debate, which is no surprise, as retrogrades are notorious for misunderstandings and communication errors. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026 Ideally, misunderstandings and disputes are resolved through conversation. — Deborah Mower, The Conversation, 2 July 2026 The idea is to allow for accidents, miscommunications or misunderstandings that the participants agree should not scuttle talks. — ABC News, 1 July 2026 Starting to collaborate early, and maintaining collaboration throughout every phase of the campaign process, is how teams can move away from working in siloes and decrease the chances of misunderstandings. — Kamya Elawadhi, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 An element of confusion might create misunderstandings with romantic couples, the arts, sports and making social plans. — Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 29 June 2026 False hopes about working in retirement speak to fundamental misunderstandings about retirement and the labor market, experts say. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 20 June 2026 Also, misunderstandings can be dangerous. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026 The misunderstandings are about people’s tones, and not necessarily about the things that people are pointing toward. — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misunderstandings
  1. misinterpretations
  2. disagreements
  3. mistakes
  4. disputes
  5. misapprehensions
  6. quarrels
  7. altercations
  8. controversies
Noun
  • The researchers say the inability of LLMs to provide the correct location is an inherent flaw that arises from training biases or from misinterpretations of instructions within the current context.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026
  • An agent can’t reliably detect its own misinterpretations using the same model that generated them.
    — Stu Sjouwerman, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of misinterpretations
Noun
  • The disagreements were intelligent, experienced, and specific — and reading them in bulk did not soften my view.
    — Sachin H. Jain, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026
  • Recent tensions over immigration enforcement The allegations follow recent disagreements between Abarca and Forté over a legislative hearing examining local agencies’ involvement in a federal operation at La Fontanella Foods.
    — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 17 July 2026
Definition of disagreements
Noun
  • One of the biggest leadership mistakes is waiting until a crisis to define standards.
    — Nadia AlShomali, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • But as writer-director Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster The Odyssey makes a point of emphasizing, the legendary Greek general from Homer’s ancient epic (portrayed in the film by Matt Damon) also made a lot of extremely avoidable mistakes.
    — Whitney Friedlander, Vulture, 17 July 2026
Definition of mistakes
Noun
  • That explains why your initial disputes with PayPal and American Express were denied.
    — Christopher Elliott, Mercury News, 17 July 2026
  • Smart contracts, tokenized assets, validator activity, and decentralized networks can create disputes that do not fit neatly within traditional commercial frameworks.
    — Sean Stein Smith, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of disputes
Noun
  • Meanwhile, the New Atheists were making hay of the fact that such faithful misapprehensions about nature were easily disproved by scientific discovery.
    — Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Ronald Reagan did not suffer from such misapprehensions.
    — Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Definition of misapprehensions
Noun
  • Candi is the family mediator Like any father-daughter coaching dynamic, Corey and Coco have had their fair share of quarrels on the tennis court.
    — Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 9 July 2026
  • Rounding out the top five names were seven write-in votes for the Sacramento Capitals or Capitols — which could be nicknamed the Caps to avoid quarrels over the spelling — and six votes for the Sacramento Stingers or Sting, referencing the collegiate Sacramento State Hornets.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 4 June 2026
Definition of quarrels
Noun
  • Retired Miami Heat forward and captain Udonis Haslem found himself in more than a few altercations during his NBA playing career.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 14 July 2026
  • Multiple officials say that players are advised, outside of training sessions, to remain in the hotel complexes at all times to avoid any risk of altercations or safety risks in public.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of altercations
Noun
  • These controversies highlighted broader concerns regarding consistency, predictability, and transparency in the drug review process.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 14 July 2026
  • The works are scheduled to go on display in Europe, and the trove’s impending departure has ignited one of Mexico’s most heated cultural controversies in recent memory.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of controversies

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Cite this Entry

“Misunderstandings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misunderstandings. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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