Synonyms

misplace

American

[mis-pleys] / mɪsˈpleɪs /

verb (used with object)

misplaced, misplacing

to put in a wrong place.
to put in a place afterward forgotten; lose; mislay.
to place or bestow improperly, unsuitably, or unwisely.

to misplace one's trust.

Synonyms:

misapply

misplace British

/ ˌmɪsˈpleɪs /

verb

to put (something) in the wrong place, esp to lose (something) temporarily by forgetting where it was placed; mislay
(often passive) to bestow (trust, confidence, affection, etc) unadvisedly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See displace.

Other Word Forms

misplacement noun

Etymology

Origin of misplace

First recorded in 1545–55; mis- ¹ + place

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.

But few women in the U.S. use HRT, driven by a decades-old misplaced fear that the therapies raise the risk of breast cancer.

From MarketWatch

After getting through Starc, Brook misplaced another bouncer close to fine leg.

From BBC

Among all of the endless chatter and misplaced obsession, that counts for a lot.

From Salon

However, some experts say the fixation on the human form is misplaced, to an extent.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023