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

Hopefully Hollywood won’t misunderstand the lesson in those projects’ success.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

To dismiss that language as frivolous, Shah argues, is to misunderstand what it is doing.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 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

“People are desperate for indicators so they look at VIX and they misunderstand it,” says Scott Nations, president of volatility index developer Nations Indexes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 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

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

Some of its language suggests that, despite several briefings, he completely misunderstands the subject of uranium enrichment—crucial to any negotiation with Iran.

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026

De Zylva argues this misunderstands the point: "The purpose of the green belt isn't to be green per se, it is to be a buffer to prevent sprawl."

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

Some consumers have complained that the technology misunderstands their problems, gets stuck in a loop of unhelpful options, or even makes costly mistakes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 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

Sir Chris told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that he worried that "some people have misunderstood the purpose of the bill", adding that it was all about getting answers for families.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Mere days after taking to the media to insist that he is a misunderstood film buff who just wants to save Hollywood, he threatened to help destroy it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The man who once said he would like to be “the King of Football” has often conducted himself as the organization’s sole executive, believing that any opponents simply misunderstood his purpose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

But I do think many have collectively misunderstood his apparent message of regret.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026

Both he and Nali were always a misunderstood comment away from yelling at each other.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Or did Walker turn a misunderstanding at the gate into a viral story?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 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

“From that point of view, it becomes a more serious story, and it goes beyond misunderstanding to something more worrying.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

To some, it may feel like Araki is flattening complex social mores and misunderstanding the anxieties behind this era of semi-celibacy.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

"Your bite was a misunderstanding, Satch," she'd say.

From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

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