misconceive
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of misconceive
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at mis- 1, conceive
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:
Regrettably, he and they misconceive the application of the U.S.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2023
People misconceive reality, according to his diagnosis, because they think about it without imagination or by rote.
From Time Magazine Archive
Plato—whom we refer to, because he is the coryphaeus of all the diverse host of Greek philosophy—seems to overestimate or rather to misconceive the place of knowledge.
From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
For her purposes she preferred that he should entirely misconceive her.
From The Salamander by Owen Johnson
“Well said, old Mole!” is, I think, not judicious, because it causes some actors to misconceive Shakespeare’s intention in this scene.
From Shakespeare in the Theatre by William Poel
The two actors play a couple whose engagement is thrown into chaos by a single shocking secret in this misconceived rom-com from Kristoffer Borgli.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
While barristers for hotel owners Somani Hotels said it "firmly disputed" the council's claim, while the Home Office told the court that the authority's bid was "misconceived".
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
Those changes enabled the bandmates, friends since they were teens, to become even closer, despite any misconceived notion that they’ve been at odds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025
The panel also described Mr Benton's arguments as "misconceived or erroneous", finding the sanction was "neither unreasonable nor disproportionate".
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2024
Bruno’s revisions to, and misunderstandings of, Copernicus were misconceived.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
"If you would prefer an allegory of figures," says Dario, misconceiving her silence.
From A Set of Rogues by Frank Barrett
By permission of Congress Franklin replied by a long letter, not deficient in courtesy of language, but full of argument upon the American side, and in a tone which there was no misconceiving.
From Benjamin Franklin by John T. (John Torrey) Morse
The interpretation arises from misconceiving an Oriental expression, and a forcible as well as natural one.
From The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 1 by Alexander H. (Alexander Hay) Japp
The figure was at a premium, and fit for any glass case that its vivacity should allow to enclose it—wherein it might be surrounded by wondering, admiring and often quite inevitably misconceiving observers.
From Notes of a Son and Brother by Henry James
They think, poor misconceiving companions! that we be all a-dying for them.
From Clare Avery A Story of the Spanish Armada by Emily Sarah Holt
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.
