mishear
Americanverb (used with object)
-
mishears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
misheard,
past participle, past
-
mishearing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
mishearsimple
-
mishearssimple
-
have misheardperfect
-
has misheardperfect
-
am mishearingprogressive
-
are mishearingprogressive
-
is mishearingprogressive
-
have been mishearingperfect progressive
-
has been mishearingperfect progressive
Past
-
misheardsimple
-
had misheardperfect
-
was mishearingprogressive
-
were mishearingprogressive
-
had been mishearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mishear
before 1000; Middle English misheren, Old English mishīeran. See mis- 1, hear
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:
They don't want to put themselves in situations where they may mishear or seem disengaged, disinterested or unintelligent.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2022
I will tell you this: They are always listening for the wake word, and tech companies admit smart assistants mishear commands more often than any of us would like.
From Fox News ● Oct. 16, 2021
“Did we all mishear, or is this spokesperson really so shameless?”
From Reuters ● Feb. 10, 2021
People love to mishear “Imagine” as a ditty about how our righteous beliefs excuse us from taking necessary action.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 3, 2020
Honda’s voice assistant is also difficult to use: it sounds robotic and monotone, and would often mishear my commands.
From The Verge ● Oct. 12, 2017
He emphasizes the importance of all 11 players remaining in sync because, if even one player mishears an assignment, the whole scheme crumbles.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 19, 2019
Caroline gets a taste of this fervor when in conversation with Cindy she mishears the words "personal savior " as "personal trainer" and starts laughing, causing an awkward silence between them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2014
The guy in charge of the guest list mishears my name and lets me in as Tom Odell.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 24, 2013
He then goes to his car, there is a Jackie Leven CD playing and he mishears the song.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2012
The reporter may have misheard the comment, or maybe the person being quoted actually said it, or something odd happened in the editing process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
But this was the first time I wondered if I had misheard him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
Michael Tierney, defending, put it to the witness that she misheard him, but she denied this.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2024
He said the player misheard the signal and erroneously called for the field goal.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 7, 2023
“I’m sorry. Maybe I misheard you. You said the underworld?”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Masli, mishearing his worry, assumed he didn’t have a place to go and found someone in the audience who was happy to invite him to her house for a family gathering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
In roughly 150 of the recordings, the broadcaster says the assistant appears to have activated incorrectly after mishearing its wake word.
From The Verge ● Jul. 12, 2019
Last spring, Alexa was creeping people out by randomly laughing; it turned out the device was too easily mishearing the command “Alexa laugh.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2018
This enlivens my replies until, through mishearing, a new level of communication is reached.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 18, 2017
She repeats the name several times after the desk clerk keeps mishearing her.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
