misunderstands

verb

present tense third-person singular of misunderstand
as in misses
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of you misunderstood that poem because you took everything so literally

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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 misunderstands Focusing exclusively on whether proprietary technology or trade secrets were transferred fundamentally misunderstands the potential intelligence value of such an operation. — Dewardric L. McNeal, CNBC, 10 Nov. 2026 Ribera insists that this misunderstands the European perspective. — Justin Worland, Time, 3 Oct. 2026 Imagine a fall-detection system that fails at night, a workplace safety monitor that misses a crucial action or a robot that misunderstands what a person is doing because it’s never seen that exact interaction before. — Bo Wang, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2026 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 Cuban argued that the proposal misunderstands how startup wealth works. — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026 This practice fundamentally misunderstands AI's role, confusing resource consumption with actual performance and business value. — Michael Edmondson, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Often in the past intelligence has been equated to technology, but to solely rely on technology as a measure of intelligence misunderstands what intelligence is. — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 27 July 2026 Health policy experts and healthcare associations say that misunderstands the nature of insurance. — Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 15 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misunderstands
  1. misses
  2. misconstrues
  3. misreads
  4. mistakes
  5. misinterprets
Verb
  • There were a lot of swings and misses trying to stop Sims on Saturday.
    — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Three weeks later, two of those deals slip to next quarter, and the company misses its number.
    — Greg Genung, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of misses
Verb
  • Immigrant connections When asked by pollsters what their top concerns are, Latino respondents rarely include immigration on that list, but this misconstrues the fact that immigration is a key Latino concern.
    — Lisa García Bedolla, Time, 4 Nov. 2026
  • In granting the President this unbridled authority, the Court upends its precedent, misconstrues our history, and sheds any pretense of judicial modesty.
    — Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 29 June 2026
Definition of misconstrues
Verb
  • Hope springs eternal though when Ali G misreads a message from an Elvis impersonator named Rocky (Clive Russell) who needs to talk to him ASAP.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Hal once again — not without reason and copious precedent — misreads the situation and lets fly with the bare facts of the situation.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of misreads
Verb
  • Hopefully, the Dolphins can limit their special teams mistakes with Gonzalez at the helm.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026
  • But this assessment mistakes the consequences of domination for its causes.
    — Mansoor Moaddel, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of mistakes
Verb
  • Billie, in turn, misinterprets that line as a message about wanting to open their relationship.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The current debate often misinterprets AI's role, focusing too much on job replacement and efficiency.
    — Tim Bajarin, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of misinterprets

Browse Nearby Words

misunderstandings
misunderstands
misunderstood
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Cite this Entry

“Misunderstands.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misunderstands. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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