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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Eats, Shoots & Leaves
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World Without Fish
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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:
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
According to the researchers, this misconception has had serious real-world consequences.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
It’s a common misconception that the federal government regulates the dates on food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
“It’s a big misconception that better models automatically translate into better trading performance,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
But then she reverts to her original misconception.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
We break down several tax-centric misconceptions about gifting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 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
"I had all these misconceptions about what autism was," she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Yet some of his examples plainly arose from his own misconceptions.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
