misunderstand

American  

[mis-uhn-der-stand] / ˌmɪs ʌn dərˈstænd /

verb (used with object)

• misunderstands,
  present (3rd person singular)
• misunderstood,
  past participle,  past
• misunderstanding
  present participle

1. to take (words, statements, etc.) in a wrong sense; understand wrongly.

   Synonyms:

   misinterpret, misapprehend, misconstrue

2. to fail to understand or interpret rightly the words or behavior of.

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misunderstand British  

/ ˌmɪsʌndəˈstænd /

verb

1. to fail to understand properly

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misunderstander
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• misunderstanding
  present
• misunderstood
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• misunderstand
  simple
• misunderstands
  simple
• have misunderstood
  perfect
• has misunderstood
  perfect
• am misunderstanding
  progressive
• are misunderstanding
  progressive
• is misunderstanding
  progressive
• have been misunderstanding
  perfect progressive
• has been misunderstanding
  perfect progressive

Past

• misunderstood
  simple
• had misunderstood
  perfect
• was misunderstanding
  progressive
• were misunderstanding
  progressive
• had been misunderstanding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will misunderstand
  simple
• will have misunderstood
  perfect
• will be misunderstanding
  progressive
• will have been misunderstanding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of misunderstand

First recorded in 1150–1200, misunderstand is from the Middle English word misunderstanden. See mis- ¹, understand

Explanation

To misunderstand is to incorrectly interpret what someone means. If you misunderstand the directions for taking your medication, you might end up feeling loopy or passing out. When a football player misunderstands the coach's instructions, he might make the wrong play. If a baker misunderstands what you ask him to write on your best friend's birthday cake, he might misspell her name. The verb misunderstand adds the "bad" or "wrong" prefix mis- to understand, from an Old English root, understandan, that literally means "stand in the midst of."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

misunderstand misunderstands misunderstood misunderstanding

He also said that supporters of parent-notification policies misstate or misunderstand the parent-teacher relationship that exists in practice and under state law.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

"Because they misunderstand it, this is not being reflected to employees," says Rahman, who runs a London-based consultancy, HR Habitat.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

We also discovered—without too much surprise—that he often seems to fundamentally misunderstand the works he treasures most deeply.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

“To suggest that one branch would seek to derive economic benefit from the Epstein matter would be to misunderstand those ties and to insult the decision-makers involved,” it said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

Up until now, I’ve largely assumed that all of my interpretations of Hideo’s words have been exaggerated on my part, but it’s pretty hard to misunderstand this statement.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Such a view misunderstands what the court is up to in those rare instances when it has stood up to the president.

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026

Amazon responded by saying the FTC "fundamentally misunderstands how advertisers operate".

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

For Barton, the red card illustrates something he believes the public still misunderstands: VAR does not eliminate the need for the referee to interpret the rules.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The court "misunderstands FIFRA's requirement, misinterprets the scope of FIFRA's preemption and ultimately leaves Durness without a remedy for the significant harms he has suffered."

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

The evidence is clear: not only does della Porta echo Garzoni’s words, but he misunderstands some of the experiments he claims to have performed, and so misreports them.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

If its reach has been misunderstood, other explanations built around the traditional model may also need to be reconsidered.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

Holmes and Evans embrace what they call “radical transparency,” opening their home to the cameras in hopes of convincing the filmmakers — and eventually the world — that the public has fundamentally misunderstood her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

An oral history, based on 80 interviews, offers insight into one of the most misunderstood administrations in recent history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Canadians have never felt quite safe with America, while Americans have consistently misunderstood and underestimated the enormous land to the north.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

I wanted to say something to that, to thank her, to ask her to repeat it again just to be sure I hadn’t misunderstood or misheard her.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

When he began practicing urology in the 1980s, the common misunderstanding was that testosterone injections caused prostate cancer, further suppressing research and treatment of testosterone deficiency.

From Slate ● Sep. 13, 2026

Her lawyer called it a misunderstanding as she pleaded not guilty to the charges.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Readers in America may marvel at the authors’ misunderstanding of the Kellogg family’s breakfast-cereal story.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Nonthaburi governor Chestha Mosikarat earlier told reporters the suspect and victim were "friends for a long time" and the incident likely stemmed from a misunderstanding.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Or at best a confused motivation, as with Liszt’s well-intentioned misunderstanding of Romani music.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• confuse
• miscalculate
• misconstrue
• misinterpret
• misjudge
• misread