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misinterpret

Use Misinterpret in a sentence

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To misinterpret

Collins

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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Relevant Questions

What Is Misinterpretated...

What Is Misinterpretated...

00:10

Misinterpret is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

misinterpret

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

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences

It is one thing to misinterpret something and remain open to clarification.

Moreover, they misinterpret history in more grotesque ways than anybody else.

The hidden nature of their disability may cause others to misinterpret their

motivation or support needs.

It's easy to misinterpret things people do in a cross-cultural setting.

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Related Words

millennium bug misconstrue misread

misread mistake

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

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