category mistake

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noun

philosophy logic a sentence that says of something in one category what can only intelligibly be said of something in another, as when speaking of the mind located in space

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby category mistake

category, Category A, Category D, category killer, category management, category mistake, catena, catenaccio, catenane, catenary, catenate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use category mistake in a sentence

This time it would be the biggest mistake for the Western press to repeat that—absolutely the biggest mistake.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Scalise has called the talk, which he delivered in a hotel outside New Orleans, “a mistake I regret.”
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Scalise offered his contrition that he had made a mistake and apologized for appearing before a group some 12 years ago.
Reverend Jeremiah Wright Was Worse Than Scalise|Ron Christie|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Make no mistake: The technology exists—has existed for a long while—to stop this from happening.
Red Tape and Black Boxes: Why We Keep ‘Losing’ Airliners in 2014|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I made the mistake of promising one group of guys they could ask me anything if they answered my questions.
The Craziest Date Night for Single Jews, Where Mistletoe Is Ditched for Shots|Emily Shire|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead of giving you a chance to say, "He has made a mistake," he forced you to say, "He has shown how to get out of a mistake."
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
But we must not class in this unclean category Lord Spunyarn and his friend Haggard, who were both playing at the big table.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
My mother now tells me that she knew of this mistake, an error of the New York paper in copying the item from a Southern journal.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
I must make no mistake, and blunder into a national type of features, all wrong; if I make your mask, it must do us credit.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
They never knew how it got there, but thinking it was by mistake, Glavis took it into the house and spread it out.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux