Misunderstand

//mɪs.ʌn.də(ɹ)ˈstænd// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To understand incorrectly, while believing one has understood correctly. transitive

    "We found that teen drivers and the public largely misunderstand the legal status of cannabis use and do not fully recognize the risks of cannabis-impaired driving."

  2. 2
    interpret in the wrong way wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
misconstrueamissbe amisscontortdistortgarble

Example

More examples

"It appears to me that we misunderstand him."

Etymology

From Middle English mys-understanden, equivalent to mis- + understand.

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