misrepresent
Americanverb (used with object)
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to represent incorrectly, improperly, or falsely.
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to represent in an unsatisfactory manner.
verb
Synonym Usage
Misrepresent, distort, falsify, belie share the sense of presenting information in a way that does not accord with the truth. Misrepresent usually involves a deliberate intention to deceive, either for profit or advantage: The dealer misrepresented the condition of the car. Distort implies a purposeful twisting or emphasizing of certain statements so as to produce an inaccurate or misleading impresssion: cleverly distorting the facts to create an impression of his own innocence. Falsify suggests a tampering with or alteration of facts, records, or documents, especially with the intent to cheat or deceive: He falsified the birth records to conceal his age. Belie means to create an impression that is inconsistent with the facts, or that contradicts other evidence but it does not usually suggest intent to deceive: Her casual, relaxed manner belies her insecurity.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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misrepresentationnoun
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misrepresentativeadjective
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premisrepresentverb (used with object)
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misrepresenternoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have misrepresentedperfect
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has misrepresentedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been misrepresentingperfect progressive
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am misrepresentingprogressive 1st person singular
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is misrepresentingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are misrepresentingprogressive
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misrepresentingparticiple
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misrepresentssingular 3rd person
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has been misrepresentingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had misrepresentedperfect
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misrepresentedsimple
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had been misrepresentingperfect progressive
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misrepresentedparticiple
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was misrepresentingprogressive singular
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were misrepresentingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of misrepresent
Explanation
If you deliberately mislead someone — for example, by lying about your work experience at a job interview — you misrepresent yourself, or paint a false picture of who you are. The verb misrepresent can be a relatively gentle way to say "lie," or it can mean more of a bending of the truth. You might misrepresent the reliability of an old car you're trying to sell or accidentally misrepresent an author's intentions in a school book report. The word itself is built from the Old English prefix mis-, which means "bad or wrong," and represent, or "depict, describe, or symbolize."
Vocabulary lists containing misrepresent
Power Prefix: mis-
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mis-
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In the Words of Abraham Lincoln
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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.
“Alibaba is not a Chinese military company nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy. We will take all available legal action against attempts to misrepresent our company,” a company spokesperson said.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
She had no intention to misquote or misrepresent the rulings and that "the mistake occurred solely due to the reliance on an automatic source", the high court wrote.
From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026
The uptick is related to the use of AI by bad actors to misrepresent their income, Wickett said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said the ad campaign used “selective audio and video” to misrepresent the former president’s address.
From Salon • Dec. 2, 2025
Harris and Watkins wrote letters to editors complaining they’d been quoted out of context, their story sensationalized to “distort, misrepresent and terrify.”
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
