Synonyms

misread

American

[mis-reed] / mɪsˈrid /

verb (used with or without object)

to read wrongly.
to misunderstand or misinterpret.

misread British

/ ˌmɪsˈriːd /

verb

to read incorrectly
to misinterpret

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

misreader

noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of misread

First recorded in 1800–10; mis- ¹ + read ¹

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."

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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.

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

Bell described the outcome of the latest review as an insult to the women who have "suffered as a direct result of their smear tests being misread".

From BBC • May 14, 2026

With the stock well off its record levels, I misread that.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

Mr. Armitage reminds us that “Gilgamesh” is less a singular artifact than a long, fragmented transmission—spoken, inscribed, shattered, buried, misread, resurrected.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

There’s bemusement and affection in the sheriff’s voice but no anger, and I’m relieved to know that I didn't misread his fondness for Katherine.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

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