mispronounce
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have mispronouncedperfect
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has mispronouncedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been mispronouncingperfect progressive
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has been mispronouncingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are mispronouncingprogressive
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is mispronouncingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am mispronouncingprogressive 1st person singular
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mispronouncingparticiple
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mispronouncessingular 3rd person
Past
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had mispronouncedperfect
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was mispronouncingprogressive singular
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were mispronouncingprogressive plural
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had been mispronouncingperfect progressive
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mispronouncedparticiple
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mispronouncedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of mispronounce
Explanation
To mispronounce is to say something incorrectly. It can be pretty awkward when you mispronounce someone's name, especially if you know the person well. Some words are easy to mispronounce, like February, realtor, and meteorology, simply because the sounds don't flow gracefully off the tongue. In other cases, non-native English speakers might mispronounce a word because it doesn't sound at all the way it looks — like tongue, for example. In any case, the verb mispronounce combines the prefix mis-, "wrong or bad," and pronounce, "to utter or say."
Vocabulary lists containing mispronounce
Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 3
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for May 18–May 24, 2024
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noun, nunc (declare)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was a veteran move by Chiellini, 38, the ultimate veteran: Mispronounce the team’s name and it can be misconstrued as a sign of disrespect.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2023
He wore the covers off the first two booklets, then became disgusted, and devoted himself instead to a small handbook entitled "Words We Mispronounce."
From Quin by Rice, Alice Caldwell Hegan
If I might offer advice, I should say: Mispronounce as much as possible, and throw in as many mistakes as you can think of.”
From Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome, Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
