Misinterpret

//ˌmɪs.ɪnˈtɜː.pɹɪt// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make an incorrect interpretation; to misunderstand.

    "For Ralph, any encouragement is too much. When Lisa gives Ralph a valentine bearing that locomotive pun that so affected The Simpsons’ showrunner, Ralph misinterprets the gesture as a genuine display of romantic interest rather than a gesture of pity from a thoughtful young geek to a friendless goober."

  2. 2
    interpret in the wrong way wordnet
  3. 3
    interpret wrongly wordnet
  4. 4
    interpret falsely wordnet

Example

More examples

"Statistics are easy to misinterpret."

Etymology

From mis- + interpret.

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