- present participle of misunderstand.
misunderstanding
Americannoun
-
misunderstandings
plural
-
failure to understand correctly; mistake as to meaning or intent.
- Synonyms:
- misconception, error, misapprehension
-
a disagreement or quarrel.
- Synonyms:
- dissension, difficulty, difference, discord
- Antonyms:
- concord
noun
-
a failure to understand properly
-
a disagreement
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of misunderstanding
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; mis- 1 + understanding
Explanation
A misunderstanding is what happens when you don't comprehend something correctly. It's also another name for a disagreement, like the misunderstanding you and your sister had about whose turn it was to do the dishes. The result of not clearly understanding someone or something is a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding between teammates can lead to dropped passes and lost points, and a misunderstanding of the pool rules can get you benched for doing a cannonball in the shallow end. You can also call a minor argument a misunderstanding.
Vocabulary lists containing misunderstanding
myPerspectives 8.3
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 1
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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.
See Examples For:
The results also highlighted a persistent misunderstanding surrounding the familiar hurricane "cone of uncertainty."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga has called the incident a "diplomatic misunderstanding".
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
That’s another misunderstanding: We were hawking game, as we like to make a little cash on the side selling rare meats.
From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026
This objection rests on a basic misunderstanding of these systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
So then I spoke up at once and said that there was a misunderstanding.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
They have also agreed to establish a communication channel for AI-related incidents, aimed at preventing misunderstandings or unexpected developments from turning into a broader confrontation.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
It was time-consuming, inefficient, prone to delays and misunderstandings and bogged down by missed return phone calls, especially before cellphones became universally used.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
"If a foundational concept is taught inaccurately, misunderstandings can carry into more advanced science and research," adds Dr. Edwin Johnson, Lecturer at the University of Newcastle, Australia, who co-authored the paper.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Yet despite your best efforts, you will inevitably encounter misunderstandings, confusion and frustration.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
I suppose he was working on the famous sermon he’d promised, which would clear up all misunderstandings.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
