- past participle of mistake.
mistaken
Americanadjective
-
wrongly conceived, held, or done.
a mistaken antagonism.
- Synonyms:
- inaccurate
-
a mistaken answer.
-
having made a mistake; being in error.
adjective
-
(usually predicative) wrong in opinion, judgment, etc
she is mistaken
-
arising from error in judgment, opinion, etc
a mistaken viewpoint
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mistaken
First recorded in 1590–1600; past participle of mistake; see -en 3
Explanation
Someone who's mistaken is confused or wrong about something. If you think your guidance counselor is mistaken about what you should do with your life, you will probably ignore his advice. If you see a car speeding through town, you might assume the driver is a teenager — but you'd be mistaken if the car is actually driven by an elderly lady. You also might believe someone else is mistaken if their opinion seems wrong to you: "You think strawberry ice cream is better than chocolate, but you're mistaken." Mistaken comes from mistake, from its Old Norse root mistaka, "take in error."
Vocabulary lists containing mistaken
Way Off: Synonyms for "Wrong"
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"Fear" and "Violence Hits Home"
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Power Suffix: -en
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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.
The other half of the bracket definitely won’t be mistaken for a chess match.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Greenspan is remembered for telling a member of Congress that if the lawmaker thought he understood what Greenspan was saying, he was certainly mistaken.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
Jamal claimed in court his had been a case of mistaken identity, but he was found guilty and told he faced deportation back to Iraqi Kurdistan after his release.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
A single mistaken headline, corrected within minutes, led to a flurry of news coverage and a public reckoning for a respected reporter.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Steady-state theory was killed by what scientists had mistaken for pigeon droppings.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
