misread
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to read wrongly.
-
to misunderstand or misinterpret.
verb
-
to read incorrectly
-
to misinterpret
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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misreadsimple
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misreadssimple
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have misreadperfect
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has misreadperfect
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am misreadingprogressive
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are misreadingprogressive
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is misreadingprogressive
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have been misreadingperfect progressive
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has been misreadingperfect progressive
Past
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misreadsimple
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had misreadperfect
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was misreadingprogressive
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were misreadingprogressive
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had been misreadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of misread
Explanation
To misread something is to read it but understand it in the wrong way. If you misread an article about local politics, you might end up supporting a candidate whose views you don't actually agree with. When you interpret a book, online article, or magazine story incorrectly, you misread it. You can also misread people, when you don't understand how they feel or what they intend: "She tended to misread cranky customers at the coffee shop, thinking they were joking when they were actually angry about something." The prefix mis- means "bad" or "wrong," and read can mean both "comprehend printed matter" or "make out a person's character."
Vocabulary lists containing misread
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: mis-
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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:
Washington also ignored or misread current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s comment that while he would allow the memorandum of understanding, he opposed it “as a matter of principle.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
In the fifth, Jung Hoo Lee hit an inside-the-park home run when Hernández misread the ball off the left-field wall in foul territory, allowing the ball to roll past him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
In 2022 a whistleblower from the Southern Health Trust contacted BBC News about fears that women's smear tests had been misread by screeners with some going on to develop cancer.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
“He misread the policy and he got me very excited,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
Of course there was a mistake: Garret Charles is practically a million years old and probably misread my number on the audition clipboard, mixing me up with another child!
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
But that misreads an endnote: As I make clear in the text, the number refers specifically to German casualties during the first three months of Operation Barbarossa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
It did not help that a couple of misreads meant he did not get to one through ball and Alejandro Garnacho failed to react to one of his.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2023
“There were some misreads and misfires by me. Just been working on that stuff as much as possible,” Zappe said.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
His defense has also slipped, with misreads in center becoming concerningly more common.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
Sometimes, her anxiety makes her too sensitive and she misreads people.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
But the president may be misreading this moment.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
That is a completely ridiculous misreading of this speech.
From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026
For investors, the risk lies in misreading this moment as cyclical belt-tightening rather than structural repositioning.
From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026
The endangerment finding and all subsequent regulation reflect a “profound misreading of” Massachusetts, according to the EPA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
The apparent textual anomalies are artifacts, products of misreading.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
