mistakenly
Americanadverb
-
unintentionally or inadvertently; by mistake.
I may have mistakenly interchanged them without realizing it.
-
in a way that is wrongly conceived, held, or done; incorrectly.
Many people mistakenly believe their PhD will help them land a stable, middle-class job even if they can't get an academic job.
Etymology
Origin of mistakenly
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.
Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly targets the body's own healthy tissues.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Guardiola, by some, is mistakenly thought to be strictly married to a singular approach.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
From the jump, it’s hard to shake the feeling that “Tony” is mistakenly aligning itself with the public’s idea of Bourdain rather than the man’s reality.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Many New Yorkers who say they were mistakenly swept up in the city’s new pied-à-terre tax share one thing in common: They own their home through a trust.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Mr. Hinton was wrongly convicted of two robbery-murders outside Birmingham after state forensic employees mistakenly concluded that a gun recovered from his mother's home had been used in the crimes.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
