misconstrue
Americanverb (used with object)
-
misconstrues,
present (3rd person singular)
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misconstrued,
past participle, past
-
misconstruing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
misconstruesimple
-
misconstruessimple
-
have misconstruedperfect
-
has misconstruedperfect
-
am misconstruingprogressive
-
are misconstruingprogressive
-
is misconstruingprogressive
-
have been misconstruingperfect progressive
-
has been misconstruingperfect progressive
Past
-
misconstruedsimple
-
had misconstruedperfect
-
was misconstruingprogressive
-
were misconstruingprogressive
-
had been misconstruingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of misconstrue
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at mis- 1, construe
Explanation
To misconstrue is to get the wrong idea about something. If you misconstrue a friend’s silence, you might get mad at him for ignoring you — until you find out he has a sore throat and can’t talk. The verb misconstrue comes from mis- meaning "wrong" and construe meaning "construction." Combined they mean "to put a wrong construction on" — in other words, to interpret in the wrong way. Sometimes people can intentionally allow others to misconstrue something for personal gain. For example, a politician may let voters misconstrue her voting record if she believes doing so will help her get elected.
Vocabulary lists containing misconstrue
Power Prefix: mis-
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Julius Caesar
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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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:
Ms. Hadden has since apologized for suggesting the victim caused her own death while blaming media for “intentionally creating sound bites to misconstrue my words during this tragedy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
And when a stock has been tumbling, it’s tempting to misconstrue a bit of good news for a change in trade.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
"Many people, in good faith, misconstrue what I'm saying, and they think I'm trying to do a sort of come-on to the camera. And I really am not," she told food podcast Sporked.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
Swain emphasized that he didn’t want any surfers to misconstrue the intensity of the storm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
“Explanation will do for another time,” thought I. Still, when I reached my chamber, I felt a pang at the idea she should even temporarily misconstrue what she had seen.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
This assertion also misconstrues the facts, according to KFF.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
As professors Kate Shaw and Kim Lane Scheppele have detailed, the court’s immunity opinion fundamentally misconstrues Jackson’s structure.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2025
Many Lakota studies scholars, however, balked at its presumptions of Lakota imperialism, arguing that the term “empire” distorts Indigenous historical realities, misconstrues the cultural motivations of Native communities and discounts the legacies of colonialism.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 5, 2022
An Uber spokesperson said in a statement that the "complaint misconstrues both the facts and the applicable law and we intend to defend ourselves accordingly."
From Reuters ● Jun. 21, 2022
I've argued myself hoarse, but he misconstrues everything I say.
From Rainbow's End by Rex Ellingwood Beach
He said his comments that led to the ban were misconstrued and taken out of context.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
She posted a simple question, and her thank-you to the first person who answered was misconstrued as sarcastic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
Previous military ruler Ne Win changed the rules of the road, requiring vehicles to swap driving lanes -- supposedly the result of misconstrued astrological advice to shift his left-wing regime to the political right.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
I think that’s exactly what’s happened here, deliberately misconstrued facts to try to come up with a case.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2025
To Adams, on the other hand, he claimed that his remarks on the Davila essays had been misconstrued, that he was actually “not referring to any writing that I might suppose to be yours.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
"It can fuel anxiety in parents who are watching the app and maybe misconstruing something that has happened in a room," one nursery owner said.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
They talk on the phone occasionally, usually misconstruing what the other is trying to say.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 18, 2022
"The media ended up misconstruing what I said when they asked me if I had seen my brother," she said on Oct.
From Fox News ● Oct. 12, 2021
It's a false claim that was quickly fact-checked by co-host Sara Haines, who tried to explain that she was misconstruing the importance of getting personal protective equipment to hospitals and healthcare workers.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2020
This time I’m also certain I’m not misconstruing friendship for romance like I did with Sophia.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
