mistook
[mi-stoo k]
- simple past tense of mistake.
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mistake
[mi-steyk]
- an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.
- a misunderstanding or misconception.
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- to regard or identify wrongly as something or someone else: I mistook him for the mayor.
- to understand, interpret, or evaluate wrongly; misunderstand; misinterpret.
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- to be in error.
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- and no mistake, for certain; surely: He's an honorable person, and no mistake.
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Origin of mistake
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com1. inaccuracy, erratum, fault, oversight. Mistake, blunder, error, slip refer to deviations from right, accuracy, correctness, or truth. A mistake, grave or trivial, is caused by bad judgment or a disregard of rule or principle: It was a mistake to argue. A blunder is a careless, stupid, or gross mistake in action or speech, suggesting awkwardness, heedlessness, or ignorance: Through his blunder the message was lost. An error (often interchanged with mistake ) is an unintentional wandering or deviation from accuracy, or right conduct: an error in addition. A slip is usually a minor mistake made through haste or carelessness: a slip of the tongue. 4. misconceive, misjudge, err.
Antonyms
2. understanding.
Confusables note
See misnomer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
misreadmisinterpretmiscalculateoverlookconfusemisjudgeunderestimatemisconstrueoverestimategoofmiscounterrbotchaddlelapseomitmisconceiveblunderconfoundsnarlExamples from the Web for mistook
Contemporary Examples
The latest is maybe the biggest howler yet, bigger than even the ad that mistook Duke basketball players for UK Wildcats.
Pistorius maintains that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.
She mistook him for a servant and fed him kindly; later, she found out that the man was a top advisor to a major general.
Perhaps among other things, Smith mistook kindness as a sign of as weak case.
Wurtz turns himself into The Man Who Mistook His Stand For His Art, and by doing so, made it so.
Historical Examples
But Uncle Lucien was so certain of the boy's guilt that he mistook his pride for impudence.
The Boy Life of NapoleonEugenie Foa
He mistook both the character of the woman, and that of his divine guest.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. IIFrancis Augustus Cox
It mistook me for a honeysuckle, and gave me a peck to make sure.
Good IndianB. M. Bower
You've saw me pretty mild; but don't you be mistook by that, like that feller Dickert was mistook.
Southern Lights and ShadowsVarious
I mistook what he meant, and thought it well to say no more.
Wilfrid CumbermedeGeorge MacDonald
mistook
- the past tense of mistake
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mistake
- an error or blunder in action, opinion, or judgment
- a misconception or misunderstanding
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- (tr) to misunderstand; misinterpretshe mistook his meaning
- (tr foll by for) to take (for), interpret (as), or confuse (with)she mistook his direct manner for honesty
- (tr) to choose badly or incorrectlyhe mistook his path
- (intr) to make a mistake in action, opinion, judgment, etc
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Word Origin
C13 (meaning: to do wrong, err): from Old Norse mistaka to take erroneously
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
Word Origin and History for mistook
mistake
mistake
n.
1630s, from mistake (v.). Meaning "unintended pregnancy" is from 1957.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with mistook
mistake
In addition to the idiom beginning with mistake
- mistake for
also see:
- by mistake
- make no mistake
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.