inaccurate

[in-ak-yer-it]

adjective

1. not accurate; incorrect or untrue.

   Synonyms: faulty, wrong, erroneous, loose, inexact

Other Word Forms

• inaccurately adverb
• inaccurateness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inaccurate¹

First recorded in 1730–40; in- ³ + accurate

Example Sentences

These numbers, upon investigation, could be highly inaccurate since I got them from ChatGPT, which explains one reason why my son’s school bans it.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Franco's legacy continues to split society, with experts warning that inaccurate social media content has spurred a positive opinion among young people with scant knowledge of the period.

Read more on Barron's

It can be detected in the body at the time of death but by the time the sample is collected and tested, the compound may have started to break down already, leading to inaccurate results.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“The information Variety published is categorically inaccurate,” it told Barron’s, declining to comment further.

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“I understand that, sir. I just think that it’s inaccurate.”

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• defective 
• false 
• faulty 
• imprecise 
• incorrect 
• mistaken 
• unreliable 
• untrue 
• wrong 

When To Use

What does inaccurate mean?

Inaccurate describes something that is incorrect, false, or not quite right, as in I came home at 9:30 last night, so saying I was out all night is inaccurate.Inaccurate is the opposite of accurate, which describes something being free of defects or errors. You might describe a scale is inaccurate if it doesn’t show the precise weight of something.Inaccurate can also describe something that is wrong or untrue. You could claim that the lie your brother told about you is inaccurate, especially if there’s a bit of truth in what he said but overall it’s wrong.Example: The results of the test were inaccurate, but they can be used to improve the next one.