Misgesture

//mɪsˈd͡ʒɛst͡ʃə(ɹ)// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A gesture that is made in error.

    "From Faisal's perspective, a more dramatic “misgesture” on the part of the Americans was needed before the oil weapon would be employed."

Verb
  1. 1
    To make the wrong gesture.

    "This flesh of ours is not a good feruant, vnlesse it helpe vs in the best offices: The God of Spirits doth most respect the soule of our deuotion; yet, it is both vnmannerly and irreligious, to be misgestured in our Prayers."

Example

More examples

"This flesh of ours is not a good feruant, vnlesse it helpe vs in the best offices: The God of Spirits doth most respect the soule of our deuotion; yet, it is both vnmannerly and irreligious, to be misgestured in our Prayers."

Etymology

From mis- + gesture.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.