mistaken
Americanadjective
-
wrongly conceived, held, or done.
a mistaken antagonism.
- Synonyms:
- inaccurate
-
a mistaken answer.
-
having made a mistake; being in error.
adjective
-
(usually predicative) wrong in opinion, judgment, etc
she is mistaken
-
arising from error in judgment, opinion, etc
a mistaken viewpoint
Other Word Forms
- mistakenly adverb
- mistakenness noun
- unmistaken adjective
Etymology
Origin of mistaken
First recorded in 1590–1600; past participle of mistake; -en 3
Explanation
Someone who's mistaken is confused or wrong about something. If you think your guidance counselor is mistaken about what you should do with your life, you will probably ignore his advice. If you see a car speeding through town, you might assume the driver is a teenager — but you'd be mistaken if the car is actually driven by an elderly lady. You also might believe someone else is mistaken if their opinion seems wrong to you: "You think strawberry ice cream is better than chocolate, but you're mistaken." Mistaken comes from mistake, from its Old Norse root mistaka, "take in error."
Vocabulary lists containing mistaken
Way Off: Synonyms for "Wrong"
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"Fear" and "Violence Hits Home"
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Power Suffix: -en
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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.
We must confront real antisemitism while ensuring criticism of a state never becomes mistaken for hatred of a people.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
Although he was a convicted criminal and had reportedly broken out of jail three times, Karlson had always maintained that the 1991 incident was a case of mistaken identity.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
In the heart of Sao Paulo, a "prisonometer" keeps a live tally of people jailed due to Latin America's largest AI facial-recognition system, but its successes have been marred by mistaken arrests.
From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026
It would never be mistaken for a dry lecture or a didactic pamphlet.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
No one would have mistaken the two for friends.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
