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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 Carlson, however, dismissed the complaints from rival programs as largely stemming from either jealousy or misunderstandings. — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 23 July 2026 Whenever people work together, there will be occasions for frustration, misunderstandings and differences of opinion. — Candice Gottlieb-Clark, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026 Getting on the same page early can prevent the kind of small misunderstandings that turn into larger fights later. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 22 July 2026 From there, the tension stems not from an unending well of sustained suspense but from the shrapnel-like feeling of worry that comes from enduring too many uncomfortable misunderstandings at once. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 21 July 2026 Generational differences in parenting styles can cause misunderstandings between parents and grandparents. — Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 17 July 2026 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
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
  • Another study found that a third of Americans have had relationships with friends, family members, or romantic partners end over political disagreements.
    — Frederick J. Ryan, Fortune, 25 July 2026
  • Over the past six months, Fedorov and Syrsky frequently took their complaints about each other to the arbiter in their disagreements, President Volodymyr Zelensky.
    — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026
Definition of disagreements
Noun
  • Kyle Tucker homered for the second consecutive game, Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six gritty innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers capitalized on two defensive mistakes by the New York Mets in a 4-3 victory Saturday night.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 July 2026
  • Both humans and algorithms can make mistakes, but society does not yet trust the algorithm with the final word.
    — Bhaskar Chakravorti, Fortune, 25 July 2026
Definition of mistakes
Noun
  • The union is tied up in labor disputes over recent attempts to unionize facilities in two of those places — Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego and Innercare, a community clinic in El Centro.
    — Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026
  • The actions mark a sharp break with a US practice of handling bilateral disputes largely behind closed doors, and not openly interfering in Mexican politics.
    — Mary Beth Sheridan, CNN Money, 25 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
  • Often, altercations involving a resident with dementia erupt after danger signals are missed or ineffectively addressed, according to a KFF Health News examination of court records, police reports, and state and federal inspection reports.
    — Jordan Rau, NPR, 19 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of altercations
Noun
  • Routine offside decisions were cleared up quickly, except for one aberration in Switzerland vs Qatar, and for once there were no major handball controversies.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • Schiff said years of reporting detailing undisclosed gifts, financial conflicts of interest and controversies involving Supreme Court justices have undermined public confidence in the federal judiciary and prompted the legislative package.
    — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of controversies

Browse Nearby Words

misunderstanding
misunderstandings
misunderstands
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Misunderstandings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misunderstandings. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on misunderstandings

Nglish: Translation of misunderstandings for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of parochial

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All