misinterpret

[mis-in-tur-prit]

Origin

verb (used with object), verb (used without object)

to interpret, explain, or understand incorrectly.

Origin:
1580–90; mis-¹ + interpret

Related forms

mis·in·ter·pret·a·ble, adjective

mis·in·ter·pre·ta·tion, noun

mis·in·ter·pret·er, noun

un·mis·in·ter·pret·a·ble, adjective

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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World English Dictionary

misinterpret (ˌmɪsɪnˈtɜːprɪt)

—vb
	(tr) to interpret badly, misleadingly, or incorrectly

misinterpre'tation

—n

misin'terpreter

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

misinterpret

1580s, from mis- (1) + interpret. Related: Misinterpreted; misinterpreting.

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Related Words

millennium bug misconstrue misread

mistake misunderstand pervert

Matching Quote

"In matters of usage there are two extremes. At the extreme right are the purists, the standpatters, the rigid traditionalists who brook little or no change and who go by the rules—as many rules as they can recall or invent. They may not speak or write brilliantly, but they are grammatically unassailable—except when they forget some rule or misinterpret one.... At the extreme left are the permissivists, the heretics who argue that there is no such thing as "correct" usage. They maintain that usage is what people say, but they neglect to disclose what people they are talking about—most people in general or most intelligent people or most educated people or most writing people or what. Oddly enough, despite the loose approach of the permissivists, who have made some headway in the schools, there is evidence that people do crave authority in matters of language, they do ask for rules and rulings. They do not seem to appreciate the freedom that the permissivists are so eager to bestow upon them."

-Theodore M. Bernstein