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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Recent Examples of misunderstands
That, too, misunderstands the law.
—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
That claim misunderstands both the intent and the reality.
—Nan Rich, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
That demand ignores long-standing practice, misunderstands the Bears’ legal obligations and risks undermining one of Illinois’ most important economic assets.
—Don Dewitte, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
But that view misunderstands how the Senate’s debate rules actually work.
—Jeremy Dalrymple, Oc Register, 2 Dec. 2025
But to argue that any of this research adds up to a substantial account of intelligence misunderstands the nature of such human traits and what can be expected from scientific explanations of them.
—Eric Turkheimer, The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2025
In an amicus brief filed to the Supreme Court, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association and 12 other professional bodies argued that characterizing talk therapy as mere speech fundamentally misunderstands its therapeutic use and purpose.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2025
But a nurse eventually overhears Archer and Hannah discussing it, and misunderstands the situation.
—Claire Franken, TVLine, 1 Oct. 2025
This misunderstands human nature entirely.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
That claim misunderstands both the intent and the reality.
—Nan Rich, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
That demand ignores long-standing practice, misunderstands the Bears’ legal obligations and risks undermining one of Illinois’ most important economic assets.
—Don Dewitte, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
But that view misunderstands how the Senate’s debate rules actually work.
—Jeremy Dalrymple, Oc Register, 2 Dec. 2025
But to argue that any of this research adds up to a substantial account of intelligence misunderstands the nature of such human traits and what can be expected from scientific explanations of them.
—Eric Turkheimer, The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2025
In an amicus brief filed to the Supreme Court, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association and 12 other professional bodies argued that characterizing talk therapy as mere speech fundamentally misunderstands its therapeutic use and purpose.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2025
But a nurse eventually overhears Archer and Hannah discussing it, and misunderstands the situation.
—Claire Franken, TVLine, 1 Oct. 2025
This misunderstands human nature entirely.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misunderstands
Verb
-
Chasing virality over community misses the point.—
Jonathan Kleeman,
Rolling Stone,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The narrative of green software solving energy constraints misses the physics.—
Jon Markman,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Finally, the policy misconstrues preventative care.—
Bloomberg Opinion,
Twin Cities,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Share the plan in writing so no one misreads it.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The big risk as things stand is that an adversary misreads his mixed signals, oversteps, and triggers an escalation nobody wants.—
Comfort Ero,
Time,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
No one mistakes him for a devout Christian or a person of faith or morality.—
Hillary Rodham Clinton,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
-
For someone who mistakes dependency as weakness, relying on someone can signal a loss of autonomy.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That memorandum misinterprets the law to allow for more exceptions than intended, according to the letter.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Boards should assume that if an algorithm misinterprets their governance, there may be no analyst to call and no clear way to correct the record before a vote is cast.—
Jane Sadowsky,
Fortune,
17 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misunderstands.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misunderstands. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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