miscalculate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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miscalculates,
present (3rd person singular)
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miscalculated,
past participle, past
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miscalculating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
miscalculatesimple
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miscalculatessimple
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have miscalculatedperfect
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has miscalculatedperfect
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am miscalculatingprogressive
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are miscalculatingprogressive
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is miscalculatingprogressive
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have been miscalculatingperfect progressive
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has been miscalculatingperfect progressive
Past
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miscalculatedsimple
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had miscalculatedperfect
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was miscalculatingprogressive
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were miscalculatingprogressive
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had been miscalculatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of miscalculate
Explanation
If you add two plus two and get five, you miscalculate. In other words, you've added the numbers incorrectly. You can use the verb miscalculate when you're talking about actual mathematical calculations, or when you measure something in an inexact way and get it wrong. Another way to use the word is to mean "judge incorrectly," which happens when you guess that your grandmother will laugh after sitting on a whoopie cushion, but you guess wrong. Mis, in this word, means "bad or wrong," and calculate means "to compute or estimate."
Vocabulary lists containing miscalculate
mis-
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #3
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mis-
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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:
It is very easy to miscalculate cutting weight.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025
But there are a lot of people looking over their shoulder, going, “Wait, did we miscalculate? Are we on the wrong side of things?”
From Slate ● May 30, 2025
Every time any actor decides to roll the iron dice of war, there is a significant chance that they are going to miscalculate.
From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2024
Hard-headed governments regularly miscalculate the risks of their most provocative acts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2023
I ain’t partial to swords—the time on the reverse is too long if you miscalculate your swing—but it’s better than a couple of rusty gardening blades.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
But if it miscalculates and raises rates too high or too fast, history suggests it could trigger a recession.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 18, 2018
A system that consistently miscalculates energy use risks being falsely reassuring or forcing the user into an unnecessarily restrictive diet.
From The Verge ● Jun. 3, 2014
Even when the team indisputably miscalculates, as when the Spurs signed Richard Jefferson to a high-dollar multiyear deal, the situation is dealt with quietly and efficiently.
From Slate ● May 29, 2012
The risk inherent in all this, however, is that someone on either side miscalculates and triggers a full-blown conflict.
From Reuters ● Jan. 25, 2012
Avoid pride, too; it often miscalculates, and more often misconceives.
From The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness Being a Complete Guide for a Gentleman's Conduct in all his Relations Towards Society by Cecil B. Hartley
“I see this increasingly as a contest of miscalculated speed,” Kahalzadeh said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Umanksy points to Measure ULA, the voter-approved tax widely referred to as the “mansion tax,” as an example of miscalculated promised outcomes.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
But regardless of the intention, Fairhope miscalculated in prosecuting Gamble.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
However, Hogan and McMahon has miscalculated the public’s desire to see Hogan again, especially in the top spot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2025
She decided to get to Tyler first, to deny anything I might tell him, but she miscalculated.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Plus, President Trump says Iran is miscalculating his urgency to end the war, and the administration’s new bank accounts for children goes live.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
The food safety watchdog has issued new guidance over caffeine in food supplements after a man died miscalculating the amount he was meant to use.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024
Ford was accused of misleading the EPA by intentionally miscalculating factors used in certification testing.
From Reuters ● Apr. 21, 2023
There are two ways to look at this Lakers season: to condemn the front office for miscalculating the initial roster, or praise them for finally getting it right.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2023
They followed the others up to the dining room, and Piersoll found a table for three under the drawing of the earnest but miscalculating angler.
From Ewing\'s Lady by Harry Leon Wilson
Definitions 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.
