misinterpret

American  

[mis-in-tur-prit] / ˌmɪs ɪnˈtɜr prɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to interpret, explain, or understand incorrectly.

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misinterpret British  

/ ˌmɪsɪnˈtɜːprɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to interpret badly, misleadingly, or incorrectly

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Other Word Forms

• misinterpretable
  adjective
• misinterpretation
  noun
• misinterpreter
  noun
• unmisinterpretable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of misinterpret

First recorded in 1580–90; mis- ¹ + interpret

Explanation

When you misinterpret something, you get it wrong. If you misinterpret another driver's wave as a friendly hello, you're probably missing the fact that he's trying to tell you one of your headlights has blown. Misinterpreting can be fun or embarrassing on a personal level––you can, say, misinterpret a boy's interest in your friend, and think he want to go out with you. But it can be devastating on an international level. During the Cold War, the US and the USSR had to be very careful about sending signals about nuclear readiness––the cost of misinterpreting could be a nuclear war.

Example Sentences

This week: Misinterpret a movie title in a supposed plot description, as in the inking entries above from Week 625, the first go-round.

From Washington Post • May 13, 2021

Misinterpret, mis-in-tėr′pret, v.t. to interpret wrongly: to explain wrongly.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Related Words

• distort
• err
• falsify
• garble
• miscalculate
• misread
• misrepresent
• misunderstand