misquote
Americanverb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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misquotesimple
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misquotessimple
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have misquotedperfect
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has misquotedperfect
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am misquotingprogressive
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are misquotingprogressive
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is misquotingprogressive
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have been misquotingperfect progressive
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has been misquotingperfect progressive
Past
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misquotedsimple
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had misquotedperfect
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was misquotingprogressive
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were misquotingprogressive
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had been misquotingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of misquote
Explanation
To misquote someone is to incorrectly repeat the words they've said. It's unethical for a journalist to deliberately misquote the subject of an interview. It's extremely common for people to misquote famous figures like Gandhi (who never literally said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world") and Machiavelli (who didn't exactly say, "The ends justify the means"). These examples can also be called misquotes. As with many words, Shakespeare is credited with being the first to use this combination of mis-, "wrong," and quote, "repeat or copy out exact words."
Vocabulary lists containing misquote
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:
Ziegler did not merely misquote Moore; she inverted its holding to endorse the very idea it rejected.
From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2025
And his personality - as he became known as 'the Special One' following a slight misquote from his opening Chelsea news conference - shook up the Premier League.
From BBC ● May 23, 2024
And, to misquote a well-known Monty Python line, “no one ever expects a pandemic.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2024
To misquote Lincoln: Their dishonor will be lighted down to the latest generation.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 27, 2022
Facts are made in the image not of people, who misremember, misquote and misrepresent, but of books, immutable but mobile.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
But its existence also means there’s no excuses for misattribution or misquotes, which is surely part of its at least temporary revival.
From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2026
ChatGPT, Ms. Shackney said, sometimes incorrectly explains ideas and misquotes sources.
From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2023
Listed between celebrity misquotes and political mishaps was a trend for an oversized cat along with an orangutan who got free from a zoo and wreaked havoc.
From The Verge ● Jan. 30, 2019
Rep. Davis even misquotes it as: “Nothing in this bill shall allow insurance companies to deny anyone coverage for preexisting conditions.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 29, 2018
Mrs. Humphry Ward also twice misquotes the passage in "Lady Rose's Daughter."
From Ponkapog Papers by Aldrich, Thomas Bailey
Roy Keane has cleared the air with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, with the pair having a "lovely chat" after he misquoted the Portuguese - which led to Fernandes accusing him of lying.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
His opinion repeatedly misquoted key pieces of evidence to accuse officials of saying things that they did not.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2025
But this statement has been frequently misquoted and transformed, with Barack Obama saying, “The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.”
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2025
They misquoted him to his face, misrepresented his work, and spouted cocksure inanities showing with every word that, scientifically speaking, they have no idea what they’re talking about.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2024
She quoted Frost; she misquoted Stevens; she paraphrased Rilke's description of love.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
BBC presenter Matt Chorley has apologised for misquoting Nigel Farage during an interview about the murder of Henry Nowak.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
“I would hope that they would continue to recognize the primary intent of the paper and be very meticulous about avoiding misquoting or mischaracterizing what that paper is for.”
From Scientific American ● Oct. 16, 2023
Artificial intelligence accused of misquoting and defaming people online could face litigation as a result of the false information it outputs, legal experts warn.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 13, 2023
He has pressed his claim relentlessly, overstating the known facts, misquoting Mr. Clapper and, in his latest Twitter barrage on Saturday, inflating the single known informant into a whole squadron of imagined undercover agents.
From New York Times ● May 26, 2018
“Now you’re misquoting the Bible phrase that became the first Morse code message transmitted in the United States on May twenty-fourth, 1844!”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
