misread
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to read wrongly.
-
to misunderstand or misinterpret.
verb
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to read incorrectly
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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:
Human-like machines may appear familiar and trustworthy as their civilian use grows, increasing the risk people misread danger.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
A temporary panic flared up in May when many observers misread options activity on a filing and concluded Aschenbrenner turned bearish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
The machines still stumble, pause, misread objects and often work best in controlled environments.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 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
A lot of his time was spent denying it, convincing himself he misread Hunter’s words and most of all his look.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
But Mr. Ferguson misreads the law in going after NewsGuard, a private outfit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
He misreads my face and says, “Try to remember that tennis is play! Just relax and don’t think.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2024
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
Soojin quickly glances at me, but either misreads my face or ignores it.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
Beyond this dispute, there sits a fundamental misreading by each side of its enemy.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
But that base may be fully misreading the situation.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2026
To say Iran is sitting pretty would be a misreading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
For investors, the risk lies in misreading this moment as cyclical belt-tightening rather than structural repositioning.
From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026
Then, there were indications she was misreading the actual size of the islands.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
