misconception
Americannoun
-
misconceptions
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of misconception
First recorded in 1655–65; mis- 1 + conception
Explanation
A misconception is a conclusion that's wrong because it's based on faulty thinking or facts that are wrong. Your accusation about your brother's role in that unfortunate event at your party may be based on a misconception. First appearing in the 1660s, the noun misconception comes from the prefix mis-, meaning "bad, wrong," and the word conception, meaning "act of conceiving." A misconception usually results from incorrect thinking or a flawed understanding. Because they don't know the facts, many people have a misconception about how diseases such as AIDS are transmitted. It's a common misconception that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, when, in fact, he didn't.
Vocabulary lists containing misconception
Power Prefix: 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:
There is a misconception that greater connectivity with family and friends acts as a kind of salve for longer deployments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
A common misconception is that Nepal "releases" water into India, say scientists.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
One misconception that people often have about conspiracy theories is that there’s a lack of information, Cotlar said, when actually there’s usually a huge abundance of information.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
From 2000 through 2014, the misconception continued to spread through media organizations across North America.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
The belief that this is wrong is a widespread misconception concocted by nineteenth- century newspaper editors.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
A section of their website is devoted to “common misconceptions about Maoism.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Women's Aid says there are many misconceptions about domestic abuse, external, including that it is only perpetrated by "bad people" rather than being a reflection of sexism in wider society.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Inside the beverage industry, Infante says one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the explosion of nonalcoholic drinks is that they’re replacing alcohol altogether.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about brain health. A lot of people think dementia either happens or it doesn’t — that there’s inevitability around it,” said Juan Rodriguez, AARP’s vice president of brain health.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Her mind was reeling with misconceptions and abysmal value judgments.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
