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:
"Our findings suggest that even with an updated graphic, that misconception can be hard to shake."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
A common misconception is that moving abroad requires relinquishing your U.S. citizenship and passport.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The misconception speaks to the show’s own queasy confusion of categories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 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
It is a common misconception that birds abandon their babies because of scent.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
There continues to be misconceptions around the status of the Canadian women: they are professional athletes but contracts, as with most other nations, do not yet compare to England's women.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
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
“And why I bring that up is, you know, there’s a lot of misconceptions and tropes about who student loan borrowers are, and who are the ones who are falling behind.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
There were misconceptions about Muslim women that existed both inside and outside of the Muslim community.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
